


The 1%

by los



Category: Free!
Genre: Alpha!Rin, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Loving Sex, M/M, Nagisa gets very very sad, Omegaverse, Panic Attacks, omega!nagisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-04-05 22:27:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4197336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/los/pseuds/los
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa and Rin start to rekindle their friendship after the Splash Free! event at Iwatobi. Things between the Alpha and Omega take a spin on the romantic, yet Rin is leaving for Australia. After an innocent last night together, life begins to pull Nagisa onto a road he was not expecting, or ready for, but unwilling to tell Rin of his predicament he braves the new challenges alone. What will happen when Rin returns to see him several years later and comes face to face with everything he left behind in Iwatobi?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Omegaverse trash and I love rare pairs so... here it is. I think I also have a thing for making happy characters sad but idk
> 
> Also, first chapter is really just setting it all up and whatever. The next chapter actually starts things off.

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa greeted happily, running up to the Alpha and his team as they met up before the race at the Splash Free! event.

 

"Hey, guys." Rin greeted, smiling as Iwatobi team walked up. He glanced down to Nagisa and gave him a curious look. "Nagisa... are you...?" he asked sceptically.

 

"An Omega?" Nagisa finished for him with a sly grin.

 

"You weren't the last time we saw each other! When did this happen?" he asked.

 

Nagisa giggled and clapped his hands together. "Late bloomer, I guess! I presented last month." he informed. "Who's this?"

 

"Ah. Guys I'd like you to meet my team, you already know Nitori but this is Momo and Sousuke." he introduced.

 

"Sous... Ah!" Nagisa exclaimed, "The same Sou-chan from your letters!" 

 

"Sou-chan?" Sousuke blinked, raising an eyebrow to the shorter male.

 

"Yeah! When we were little Rin-chan and I would write letters to each other when he was in Australia! He told me all about you!" Nagisa seemed overjoyed. "Now I'm getting to meet you!"

 

"Don't tell him that!" Rin ordered, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Nagisa giggled.

 

Pleasantries were shared within the group and small chat made until it was time for them to part ways for the event, with promises to gather together afterwards for dinner.

 

The event went well and the group found themselves in a small diner afterwards, sharing stories and jokes. Nitori and Makoto seemed to be bonding over a mutual interest in animals, with Momo jumping in with his own personal accounts with bugs, which, he deemed were just as cool as the animals they were talking about.

 

Haru and Sousuke were sharing small talk, yet it seemed tight and slightly hostile so they mostly sat and listened as Rin and Nagisa caught up. The two seemed to be attempting to rekindle the close relationship that they had as children. Rei was jumping between the two groups from arguing with Momo about how 'beautiful' bugs were and getting frustrated so turning to Haru and Sousuke to talk with them.

 

"I still can't believe that you presented this late though." Rin mentioned.

 

Nagisa shrugged. "I couldn't believe it either, honestly. I was really scared when it started happening. I mean, I thought I was just a Beta! Not all Betas have an official 'presenting' so I was so convinced that was it." Nagisa sighed.

 

Rei decided to jump into the conversation with, "It's normal for male Omegas to present late, though. Your body takes more time to adjust to being an Omega, seeing as no other dynamic male has the ability to have a baby other than the male Omega." he informed.

 

Nagisa's cheeks heated up at the mention. "You don't have to say it like that, Rei-chan!" 

 

Rin laughed. "Don't you like Nagisa is a little too clumsy and childish to be a mother? Maybe you presenting late is an omen or something." he joked.

 

"How mean, Rin-chan!" Nagisa laughed and lightly punched at the Alpha's arm. 

 

"I'm not finished, Blue-Boy!" Momo chimed in. "Bugs aren't meant to be 'beautiful', okay? But beetles are so cool-"

 

Rei sighed and rolled his eyes.

 

By the time they were all leaving it was past dark and everyone had smiles on their faces and bellies full of food. 

 

"Hey, Nagisa." Rin took a moment.

 

Nagisa turned towards the taller male. "Yes, Rin-chan?" 

 

"I'd really like to catch up some more, if you'd like. What are you doing next weekend?" he asked.

 

Nagisa's face lit up with his smile and Rin grinned. "I guess I have plans, now, don't I?" he giggled. 

 

The red head nodded and ruffled the Omega's hair. "I'll text you and we'll work out the details, yeah?"

 

"Rin-senpai! Hurry up already!" Momo yelled from where the Samezuka group waited down the sidewalk.

 

Nagisa laughed and nodded. "Just text me. We'll watch a movie or something maybe!" Rin smiled down at the Omega and waved his goodbye.

 

The next weekend found the two in the city, walking together as they talked and joked. They shopped some and saw a movie together, having dinner as they caught up. The pair enjoyed each other's company and Nagisa was just overjoyed at having his friend back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh. At least things happen in this one.

Nagisa and Rin met together often after that, spending almost every weekend together doing something. If they weren't at Nagisa's house playing video games, then they were walking around the city together or loitering around a park in any neighborhood they found themselves in.

 

"Rin-chan! Let's go see this movie today!" Nagisa exclaimed, holding out the printed ad to the Alpha.

 

Rin looked over the paper and raised an eyebrow. "I heard this movie sucks, though. Still wanna see it?" he asked. Nagisa nodded and smiled. Rin rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Let's go see when the next showing is, I guess."

 

Nagisa giggled and bumped his shoulder with Rin's arm as they walked. "Rin-chan can't say no to me." he boasted.

 

"Oh yeah?" the Alpha questioned.

 

The blonde stuck his chin out proudly, "Of course! You haven't said no to me yet!" Rin scoffed and looked ahead. 

 

They each bought their tickets to the movie but Rin bought their popcorn and drinks. He tried to ignore the taunting smirk that the smaller male was giving him as they made their way to their theater.

 

The two males found their seats before the movie started and got comfortable, exchanging small talk before the screen lit up and the showing started.

 

The popcorn sat in Nagisa's lap, seeing as he always enjoyed it more than Rin did, but the Alpha was still reaching over to steal bites here and there. At one point they had both reached in and found their hands touching.

 

Nagisa looked up at Rin when he didn't pull his hand away. Rin glanced down at the Omega.

 

"Rin-chan, this is really cliche." he teased quietly.

 

Rin sputtered and pulled his hand away, looking back towards the movie with a scowl on his face. Nagisa smiled and leaned his head on Rin's shoulder. Rin allowed himself a moment of surprise, looking down at the blonde head resting on his shoulder before deciding to just wrap his arm around the smaller male.

 

The rest of the movie was spent like that and afterwards, nothing was said about the exchange between them.

 

Graduation was around the corner and that was just settling in to Nagisa. Makoto and Haru would be graduating and leaving school to continue on with their lives. 

 

Rin would be graduating and continuing on with his life. 

 

That didn't sit right with Nagisa.

 

"Nagisa, you okay?" Rin questioned as they sat together in Nagisa's room, a video game playing on the TV screen in front of them.

 

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine!" Nagisa smiled. "I just kind of spaced out there I guess!" he shook his head.

 

Rin eyed the Omega and hummed. "I don't think so. What's wrong?"

 

Nagisa glanced over at Rin and bit his lip. "Nothing is wrong, actually. It's just kind of hitting me that everyone is graduating soon, I guess. It's a weird feeling. But nothing is wrong." Rin hummed in acknowledgement. "What are you doing after high school, Rin-chan?" Nagisa asked quietly.

 

"Me? I'm going back to Australia. I've been scouted, gonna become an Olympic swimmer!" he boasted.

 

Nagisa felt something heavy settle into his stomach. "Just like you've always wanted! Oh, Rin-chan, that's amazing!" he smiled.

 

Rin nodded and smiled at Nagisa, looking into his eyes and seeing the uncertainty there. "I won't be leaving until late fall though. We have all summer to be together, Nagisa. You'll be back in school before I leave!" he assured.

 

Nagisa huffed and pouted. "Maybe I don't wanna spend my summer with you!" 

 

Rin lifted an eyebrow and nudged him with his elbow. "Who wouldn't want to spend time with someone who is gonna be famous before you know it?"

 

Nagisa giggled and leaned on the Alpha. "I guess I gotta get my fill of you now before you go over there and get a big head, huh?"

 

"Who says that's gonna happen?" The red head questioned indignantly.

 

"I do!" the Omega laughed and nuzzled Rin's shoulder before pulling away. "Let's continue the game!"

 

Graduation came and went and summer was beginning. The Iwatobi gang and Rin spent more time together, but Rin and Nagisa still had their days to themselves. 

 

Summer had begun and the beaches were crowded, but less so in the evening, and Rin and Nagisa found themselves frequenting the beach together to share a swim in the waning twilight.

 

"Come on! You should see this spot I found!" Rin led the Omega down the farther end of the beach. "It's got a great diving area."

 

"How much further is it?" Nagisa whined. "It's hot, I wanna swim!"

 

"Not much further, now just hurry up, it's over these rocks!" Rin could hardly contain his excitement to show his friend the special spot he had found.

 

After cresting the rise of the rock formation they could see the secluded cove below them with the untouched sand and high rock face above them.

 

"Rin-chan, this is amazing." Nagisa uttered in awe.

 

"Isn't it? And we have it all to ourselves." he added with a wink. Nagisa's cheeks flushed lightly and he giggled. "Come on." Rin offered, holding out his hand to the other. "The rocks may be slippery and I don't want you to fall." 

 

Nagisa rolled his eyes but he placed his hand in Rin's anyway as they made their way down the rocks which, to Rin's credit, were slippery in some areas.

 

After placing down a blanket in the sand and setting their stuff down on it they stripped down to their swimsuits.

 

"Race you to the water!" Nagisa goaded as he was running towards the water.

 

"Cheater!" Rin called out, running after the smaller male and catching up quickly with his long strides.

 

"No fair! Rin-chan has longer legs!" Nagisa laughed, struggling to keep up.

 

Rin laughed with him, running over the sand and diving into the water as he reached it. Nagisa followed soon after and began swimming around him underwater.

 

They each pulled back up for air, swimming out further and playing with each other. Nagisa would attempt to dunk Rin under and Rin would splash him in retaliation. They would race each other and completely take advantage of the free swimming space, unpopulated by other people.

 

At one point they had each dived under, swimming around each other and playing under the water. Nagisa swam closer to Rin and the Alpha reached for Nagisa's hands. Their fingers laced together as they smiled at one another. After another beat between them Nagisa finally pulled himself forward by their hands and pressed his lips to Rin's.

 

Rin didn't hesitate in leaning into the touch, holding their position until they both needed to go up for air. Upon breaching the water's surface and gulping in fresh oxygen Nagisa began to laugh heartily, throwing his head back in joy.

 

"What?" Rin asked, almost self conscious as he watched the glow of the sun over Nagisa's features seeming to light him up more.

Nagisa shook his head as his giggles died down. "That was so cliche!" he exclaimed. His face was flushed and his cheeks hurt from smiling so much but Nagisa felt absolute happiness as he looked to the Alpha in front of him.

 

Rin huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "I'm not complaining."

 

"Me either." Nagisa smiled and swam closer again, leaning in close to plant a kiss to Rin's cheek. Before Rin could lean down to capture his lips the Omega swam away, giving the Alpha a teasing look before dunking under and swimming back to the shore.

 

"You little-" Rin shook his head, following the Omega under the water and racing to catch up to him.

 

Nagisa reached the shore first and squealed when he saw Rin reach the shore behind him and start running.

 

Rin caught up to Nagisa quickly and grabbed him into his arms. "You're such a cheater." he teased before leaning down and pressing his lips to the Omega's.

 

Nagisa smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Rin's neck, encouraging the action. He let his fingers run through Rin's hair as the kiss deepened and furthered between them.

 

Rin began walking them towards the blanket that they had spread out, gently guiding Nagisa to lay down on it before following him and resting on his elbows over the Omega. His heart was beating wildly in his chest as he looked down at the blonde, all flushed and rumpled and glowing in the last bit of light from the sun.

 

Nagisa wasn't much better off, feeling nervous and excited and overjoyed and wow all at once. He could hear his heart beating in his chest as he looked up at Rin and briefly wondered if the Alpha could hear it too.

 

The Omega brought his hands up, cupping Rin's cheeks in his hands and smoothing his thumbs over the skin there before letting his hands go back into Rin's wet hair, running his fingers through the strands in an attempt to urge him back down to kiss him.

 

Rin took the hint and lowered himself easily over the Omega, capturing his lips between his own and kissing him, tentatively at first, until Nagisa reassured him by humming into the kiss and deepening it. Nagisa's lips parted ever so slightly, tongue peeking out to get a taste of the Alpha's salty lips.

 

Rin chuckled and took the opportunity to slip his own tongue between Nagisa's lips and tasting him deeper. It was new and they were both awkwardly trying to get the hang of this new experience.

 

Nagisa gasped when Rin took his tongue between his lips and sucked lightly. His heart was going out of control and butterflies were fluttering all around in his tummy, Omegan instincts loving the attention from such a wonderful Alpha.

 

Rin's own instincts were helping him greatly in figuring out what to do. He naturally dominated the kiss and kept the pace easy but intense. His nervousness was slipping away by each small, pleased sound that Nagisa was uttering.

 

They had just pulled away to take a breath, ready to lean back in and continue their kiss, but were interrupted by the sound of Nagisa's stomach grumbling loudly in hunger. The Omega's face burned bright red in embarrassment and he rolled onto his side so he wouldn't have to face Rin. "Sorry!" he squeaked out.

 

Rin laughed and nuzzled his shoulder. "Don't be sorry. Let's go get some dinner, yeah?" he offered softly.

 

Nagisa turned his head to look up at him again. "I want ramen." he expressed.

 

Rin nodded. "Let's get some ramen." he agreed with a grin.

 

And with that, they gathered their things and walked together to a nearby ramen shop for dinner. Other than their feet dangling and kicking at each other under the table, there was no acknowledgement of events that had happened at the beach between them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex happens

The summer progressed that way. Rin and Nagisa forming a delicate romance around them. They never talked about what was happening between them, just letting it happen as it did. They shared kisses frequently, and when together they were always close.

 

When they were around their group of friends it was easy enough to act like there was nothing there. No one was the wiser to their growing attraction and budding romance. They were all just friends when they were all around each other.

 

But in their time alone they were often cuddled together, talking softly between them and sharing sweet kisses. Nothing about their feelings was ever said, all unspoken in their actions. If they were playing video games together Nagisa would sit in Rin's lap and rounds of "winner gets a kiss from the loser" were played. At the park Rin would push Nagisa on the swings as they talked. At the movies Rin's arm was always around the blonde. And if they were walking together their hands would sometimes find the other's and they would continue on like that.

 

Summer waned, but their romance continued on. Nagisa would attend school and Rin would visit his family, and then they would find each other afterwards and spend time together. Rin had taken to spending the night over at Nagisa's house just to spend more time with him.

 

It was no longer summer. Fall was here. Rin would be leaving soon.

 

Nagisa's heart physically ached at the thought.

 

"Rin-chan, you're hogging the bed!" Nagisa giggled, pushing at the Alpha's body beside him. 

 

"Oh, am I?" Rin teased, sprawling his body further to take up more room. "Guess you'll just have to get comfortable with me like this." he offered, pulling the Omega to his body and holding him close.

 

"If I fall asleep in school tomorrow because of you I'm actually going to make you sleep on the futon next time." Nagisa taunted.

 

Rin scoffed. "Whatever, you fall asleep in school anyway. Did you even do your homework?" 

 

Nagisa pouted, curling into Rin's side and resting his head on his chest. "I didn't get some of it so I'm gonna ask the teacher tomorrow."

 

Rin rolled his eyes. "I could have helped you if you wanted."

 

"You just graduated! You don't wanna do schoolwork again, and I wouldn't make you do that." Nagisa answered.

 

"That doesn't matter! I don't mind helping you if you want it!" Rin chuckled. Nagisa mumbled something to himself and curled closer. "What was that?"

 

The Omega gripped one hand into the fabric of Rin's shirt. "I said, I would rather spend the last of my time with you doing better things." he repeated, voice still soft.

 

Rin tensed at that and stayed quiet for a moment. "Oh, Nagisa." he breathed out, holding the Omega closer. 

 

Nothing else was said about that matter between them for another week.

 

Rin woke slowly, blinking at the light coming in through Nagisa's windows. Said Omega was still fast asleep next to him, body spooned up against Rin's chest. 

 

Rin smiled and nuzzled the Omega's hair before glancing at the clock. 

 

"Oh my God, Nagisa, wake up!" Rin urged, shaking him lightly. Nagisa's face contorted into a grimace at being woken up and he mumbled something while trying to swat away Rin's hand. "Nagisa, wake up you're way late for school."

 

"Relax, Rin-chan, I'm skipping today." Nagisa grumbled, turning to his other side and throwing an arm around Rin's waist.

 

The Alpha looked down at him in confusion. "What? Why?"

 

Nagisa sighed and blinked his eyes open to glance at the older male. "You leave in less than a week, Rin." he stated softly. "Being with you a little while longer is more important to me."

 

Rin felt those words like a blow to his heart. "Oh." he answered eloquently before laying back down.

 

Nagisa smiled softly at him, hand tracing patterns on the Alpha's side. "Good morning." he purred, looking into the others eyes.

 

Rin couldn't help but return the smile. "Good morning." he replied, running a hand through Nagisa's wild blonde locks.

 

"What should we do today? Maybe one last swim together? Or something else since you'll be doing a lot of swimming over in Australia?" Nagisa asked, punctuating his question with a yawn and stretching out his arms and legs.

 

Rin's eyes followed the lines of Nagisa's body. His Omegan nature kept him smooth and soft everywhere even with his training regime. "I'd love a swim." he answered simply.

 

"Are you going to spend the night tonight, too?" Nagisa asked next.

 

Rin nodded his head. "I won't be leaving to go home until late tomorrow morning."

 

"I'm taking a half day off from school tomorrow, too. I wanna see you off. Since that'll be the last I get to see you until you leave." Nagisa stated in a tone that broached no argument. Not like Rin would argue with him about this anyway.

 

"Yeah." was all Rin answered. The Alpha could feel his heart pulling him towards the Omega lying right next to him, and he didn't fight the suddenly overwhelming urge to kiss him deeply.

 

Nagisa let it happen, heart breaking a little more at the action. He willed away the tears that threatened to fill his eyes as he kissed back. Upon pulling away he pasted a smile on his face. "Eeww, Rin-chan, we both have morning breath!" he joked.

 

Rin smiled and shook his head, pinning Nagisa to the bed and kissing him again quickly before pulling up and standing off of the bed and walking to the bag he had packed to come here.

 

Nagisa giggled and stood off the bed as well, walking to where Rin was hunched over and draping himself over his back. "I'm gonna go fix us something to eat, okay?" he offered, planting a kiss to Rin's neck.

 

Rin chuckled. "I may not live past breakfast if you cook." he joked.

 

Nagisa stuck out his tongue and skipped out of his room and down to the kitchen.

 

Rin dressed and cleaned himself up a bit before meeting Nagisa down in the kitchen. "It smells like something burnt." he taunted.

 

"Shut up, Rin-chan!" Nagisa expressed, "I'm trying, okay!" he pouted.

 

Rin walked over and wrapped his arms around Nagisa's waist. "Sorry, sorry. What are you making?"

 

"I'm trying to make omelets but I'm bad at timing things as they cook so... they may be a little overcooked." he admitted. Rin laughed and nuzzled the Omega's hair.

 

Rin helped Nagisa finish everything off and get their utensils out for breakfast, sitting down at the table with him to eat.

 

"It's definitely overcooked." Rin stated after taking a bite. "It's better than last time though, so it's okay." he assured before Nagisa could rebut him.

 

The Omega sighed. "I was not made for cooking or housework." he resigned.

"Reasons you shouldn't become a mother." Rin teased, "You'd be horrible at keeping that kid fed. Or at the very least you'd ruin his taste buds with burnt food!"

 

Nagisa laughed, near doubling over. "Oh that poor kid would be so confused if he ever tasted good food! He would only know the taste of takeout pizza and burnt omelets."

 

The two laughed and joked on throughout the morning, Rin offering to do the dishes while Nagisa got dressed and ready for the day.

 

Afterwards the pair gathered their things and made their way to the beach. They decided the walk was worth it and made their way to the cove they had shared their first kiss in.

 

They swam and played around like all the other times they had swam together, sharing kisses often and finding any reason they could to hug and hold each other. They shared a picnic of sandwiches and bottled tea together on the beach, looking out over the water. 

 

When they were through they gathered their things and went back to Nagisa's house. They opted to nap the afternoon away together in the sun of the backyard.

 

One of Nagisa's older sisters got home later that afternoon and the three of them watched TV together in the living room. Nagisa's sister had no mercy when it came to telling Rin all the silly stories about Nagisa's childhood that he hadn't known. Nagisa was grateful beyond belief when his mother and father got home to save him from any further embarrassment.

 

Dinner that evening was fun. The Hazuki household ever happy for the company of Rin.

 

"Oh, Rin we'll miss you when you're gone, you know?" Nagisa's mother mentioned.

 

"But we wish you all the luck in the world. You'll do great over there, I know." his father added.

 

Nagisa's sister pat the Omega's back comfortingly as he sat and listened as his family said their goodbyes to his friend.

 

Rin was lying in Nagisa's bed, flipping though a volume of a manga when Nagisa returned to the room after his bath.

 

"This manga kinda sucks, doesn't it?" Rin mumbled, throwing it aside and looking towards where the Omega stood near the window.

 

"Yeah, I borrowed it from a friend." he answered quietly, still not looking at the red head.

 

Rin could see how Nagisa's shoulders were shaking. He stood from the bed and walked towards the shorter male, pulling him to his body and holding him tightly.

 

"I'm sorry. I'm trying really hard not to cry. I don't want to ruin this time, I want it to be happy!" Nagisa whimpered, hiccuping lightly and wiping furiously at his eyes.

 

"We can skype. We can call each other. I'm gonna text you any time I get the chance. This isn't the end, Nagisa. I won't let this be the end, you're my O-"

 

"Don't say it!" Nagisa exclaimed loudly, slapping a hand over Rin's mouth. "Please don't say that." he pleaded, softer this time, "Things will change, things change. We don't know what will happen so please please don't say that." Rin nodded in understanding. Both took a moment, each one reeling from the first real acknowledgement of what was happening between them. "I'm going to miss you so much, Rin."

 

The Alpha nodded, "I'm going to miss you just as much." he replied.

 

Nagisa sniffled and took a step back, Rin's arms falling from around him. "This is our last night together, Rin." he stated, the Alpha stayed quiet. "I don't know when I'll get to see you in person again." Nagisa continued. "I want... can we..." he took a breath, "Will you hold me tonight?"

 

Rin's eyes widened. "Nagisa... are you sure? I'll be leaving and-"

 

"I want it. I'm so sure, Rin. I just... really want... I want to be close to you." he finished lamely.

 

Rin nodded. "Okay." he answered, moving forward to pull Nagisa into his arms once more. Nagisa brought his own arms around Rin's shoulders and leaned forward to him, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

 

Rin walked him backwards, letting Nagisa fall to the bed before walking away to turn the light out so they wouldn't have to do it later, Nagisa took a moment to turn on the small lamp near his bed for a little bit of light.

 

Rin hummed and brought their lips together once more upon reaching the bed. He pushed Nagisa to lie down, taking over the kiss and deepening it.

 

Nagisa hummed, happily letting Rin dominate their kiss as he ran his hands along Rin's shoulders and arms. They pulled away after a moment to take off their shirts, coming back together once more after the articles were tossed to the floor.

 

Rin growled lowly into the kiss, nipping at Nagisa's lips and reveling in the submissive whines and moans coming from the Omega. His Alpha instincts took over as he settled himself between Nagisa's legs. He pulled away from the kiss to start mouthing lower over the Omega's neck, nosing at the scent gland at the base of his neck and breathing in the sweet scent. Nagisa jerked at the action and moaned softly, Rin smirked and began sucking up light bruises all over his shoulders and scent glands.

 

Nagisa couldn't help his hips from jerking. Every action upon the sensitive skin sent a spark of heat through him. He made sure to let his Alpha know that he was doing well by purring at the ministrations and moaning softly whenever Rin would focus on a particularly sensitive area. Yet he felt left out, wanting to make his Alpha feel good too.

 

"Rin, let me try." he ushered quietly, nudging the red hair with his nose. The Alpha smiled, giving him one last kiss before presenting his neck to the Omega. Nagisa hummed and started to place his own tentative kisses to his skin.

 

The Alpha sighed as Nagisa nosed at his scent gland, taking in the rich, dominant scent of his partner. He let the Omega take over at his own pace, relishing the attention from the smaller male as he brought their hips together and ground down experimentally. Nagisa jerked and moaned against his skin, causing a rush of arousal through the Alpha.

 

The two of them covered the other in love bites and small bruises as their bodies worked together, working up their pleasure and excitement. Rin was the first to pull away, moving his hands to Nagisa's sleep pants and tugging lightly, silently asking for permission. The blonde nodded his consent and lifted his hips to help Rin pull of the last of his clothing.

 

Nagisa pulled his legs together once his clothes were thrown to the floor, suddenly feeling insecure. Rin gave him a look, raising one eyebrow and holding back a laugh. "I'm sorry! It's just... a little weird I think. I feel really... open." he explained, forcing his legs to move so the older male could place himself between them again.

 

"Wanna stop?" Rin asked, smoothing one hand up Nagisa's leg.

 

The Omega gave a small smile and pulled him closer, kissing him deeply. "Definitely not. It feels good." he expressed, nuzzling the red head's cheek. "And I trust you." 

 

Rin felt his own cheeks heat up at that, smiling and kissing the dear Omega under him. 

 

"Now let's get even, here." Nagisa giggled, reaching to help Rin pull off his own pants. The Alpha chuckled, tugging off the last bit of clothing and throwing it all to the floor. 

 

Rin pulled the sheet over them upon noticing Nagisa's shiver, pulling him closer and pressing their bodies flush together.

 

"Oh, wow." the blonde breathed out, biting his lip and smoothing his hands over Rin's broad back.

 

"Yeah." the Alpha smiled, huffing out a groan as he moved their hips together again. "Spread your legs a little more for me." he requested, pulling back after one last deep grind against the Omega's soft skin.

 

Nagisa's breaths were starting to come out faster, soft whines leaving him at the feel of another body moving against his own. He complied with Rin's request, digging his heels into the bed and holding his hips up so Rin could place a pillow under him. 

 

"Are you sure?" Rin asked one last time.

 

Nagisa snorted and threw his head back. "Yes! Wow, Rin-chan, if I didn't know any better I would think you were nervous!" he teased.

 

The Alpha huffed and rolled his eyes, moving one arm to hold himself up while the other traveled down Nagisa's body, caressing lightly and cherishing the skin beneath his fingers. He wrapped his hand around Nagisa's length and stroked lightly, watching the surprise burst forth in the Omega's expression.

 

Nagisa allowed himself a few selfish moments of basking in the pleasure he was receiving before moving his own hand down to grip Rin's half-hard length and stroking experimentally. The two boys looked to each other, cheeks pink from a mixture of embarrassment and arousal. They found themselves laughing at one another, smiling and allowing the awkwardness to melt away as they explored and experimented with pleasing the other.

 

It took a few moments before Rin got up the nerve to start moving his hand down, fingers pressing forward to Nagisa's entrance. He circled the area uncertainly for a moment, looking to the Omega for some reassurance.

 

Nagisa's face was bright red and he bit his lip. "I'll get wet, just give me a sec." he informed, bringing his free hand down to where Rin's was, guiding his fingers in massaging and stimulating the area. "Just... yeah, like that. And if you push there -ah!-" he shivered, "it feels really good and I'll... yeah." he punctuated his sentence with a moan.

 

A rush of relief went through the Alpha upon feeling the slick start to gather on his fingers. His instincts kicked in and his natural dominance took over once more. "So if I push right... here!" Nagisa's hips bucked and he gasped, the Alpha smirked, proud of himself for pleasing his Omega.

 

"No fair, Rin-chan!" Nagisa breathed out, doubling his efforts in stroking Rin's length, experimenting more with his technique. 

 

Rin groaned, thrusting lightly into his grip as he moved to push the tip of one finger inside the tight entrance of the blonde. Nagisa pushed his hips back, encouraging him to go further.

 

Before much longer, Rin was pushing in a second finger next to his first, scissoring them and gently thrusting them to stretch the muscle fully. Nagisa was panting, quietly urging him for more as he was ready for it while he continued his movements along Rin's length. His rhythm began to stutter, though, as Rin entered a third finger and began thrusting them in harder. A moan fell from his lips as he threw his head back and pushed himself towards the fingers.

 

Rin was completely entranced by the submissive display from the younger male. His eyes roamed his body in appreciation, but stop on his face. The dim light from the bedside lamp was casting dramatic shadows on his face, causing every expression to seem even more exaggerated. 

 

"Rin-chan," Nagisa whined out, reaching for him to come forward for a kiss, "I'm ready now." 

 

The Alpha nodded, peppering Nagisa's neck with kisses as he pulled his fingers out and adjusted their position, placing the Omega's legs around his waist. Rin nuzzled along the blonde's scent gland, pulling out more of the aroused scent as he slowly began pushing in.

 

Nagisa's mouth fell open on a silent moan, holding his breath as he felt himself being filled by his Alpha. Rin let out a long groan into his neck as he pushed forward. He stopped as he bottomed out, giving both of them a moment to adjust to the new sensations, and kissed his Omega deeply. Nagisa's arms reached up and wound themselves around Rin's shoulders, relishing in the feeling of the hard muscles beneath his fingers.

 

They started a slow pace together, grinding and testing the waters. Their gasps and soft moans filling the air between them. Nagisa urged his partner for more by riding out the sensations, and Rin let his instincts go, picking up the pace and chasing out his and his partner's pleasure.

 

Nagisa's own orgasm built quickly, whimpering for his Alpha and begging for more sweet kisses, and had him over the moon with the protective and loving scent that Rin was emitting. He responded in kind with his own scent, trying to convey his own feelings without having to say them. Rin growled in response and started to thrust harder into the willing body beneath him.

 

Nagisa had to stop himself from biting Rin's scent gland as he came undone, knowing in the back of his mind that they would bond if he did that, but otherwise allowed himself to cling tightly to the red head, moaning his release into Rin's shoulder as his body tightened up from exertion before relaxing once more.

 

The Alpha groaned deeply at feeling the body tighten around him, losing himself in reaching his own orgasm. Nagisa gasped and whimpered through the rough motions, body oversensitive and on high. It didn't take much longer for Rin to finish, releasing into the Omega and holding himself there as he caught his breath.

 

When Rin finally came down again the first thing he noticed was how Nagisa was purring for him, massaging his skin with his hands and absolutely glowing beneath him. "Thank you, Rin-chan."

 

The red head laughed, pulling out gently and grabbing a shirt off the floor to wipe themselves off with. "Let's get some sleep now, yeah?" he offered, helping to adjust the sheets around them so they could lie on the clean ones.

 

"Good night, Rin."

 

"Sleep well, Nagisa." the Alpha replied softly, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is when things actually start. Please read the notes at the end!!!!!

The next morning the two woke slowly, gathered together with a melancholy mood surrounding them. No words were spoken as they lounged in bed together, hands roaming slowly and eyes locked onto their partner's. Every other morning Rin was greeted with a sleepy smile from Nagisa, though today the blonde had trouble keeping his lips quirked up.  
  
"We should probably go take a shower." Rin suggested as he carded his fingers through Nagisa's wild bed hair. The Omega nodded and sat up slowly, stretching his back out carefully. "Did I hurt you?" Rin asked as he sat up with him, watching the younger's movements carefully.  
  
"Not at all, Rin-chan! I'm just sore, which is to be expected!" Nagisa assured, leaning over and kissing his Alpha's cheek.   
  
Rin nodded and stood, gathering clothes for the both of them to change into while Nagisa took his time moving. After gathering the clothes Rin went back to him to help him up, walking together towards the bathroom.  
  
Rin helped Nagisa wash up, much to the blonde's embarrassment, making sure to clean off all remaining evidence of their escapade the night before. The Alpha felt pride swell in him at seeing all the bright red marks covering his Omega's neck and shoulders, growling softly as he kissed each one and letting a soft pleased feeling overcome him at the Omega's sweet purring in response. After a thorough cleaning of them both they settled into the bath together, Nagisa leaning against Rin's chest.  
  
"This feels much better!" Nagisa sighed, curling into Rin and purring.   
  
Rin ran a hand up and down his back softly, "Sure I didn't hurt you?" he asked.  
  
Nagisa nodded, turning a little to press light kisses to Rin's neck. "I'm sure."  
  
  
They didn't get out until the water had started to cool and the morning was mostly gone. They dressed and parted ways, Nagisa going to make them a snack while Rin re-packed his bag. When Rin was done, the couple left together, heading towards the train station while eating the sloppy rice balls that Nagisa had made. Not much was said between them, even as they sat together to wait for the train, fingers locked together as they sat close.  
  
"It's weird. I know you're only going to your family house but it feels like you might as well be getting on the plane to Australia already." Nagisa wondered aloud to himself.  
  
Rin nodded slowly. "Just a few more days..."   
  
Much went unsaid between them, neither able to voice what they really wanted to say to the other. Before much longer the train was arriving and they stood together.   
  
"You better call me!" Nagisa chastised, surprised that he was able to keep his tears down so well.  
  
Rin smiled and brought him in for a hug. "We can video chat, too, you know. You haven't seen the last of me."  
  
Nagisa smiled, a giggle slipping out as he held on tightly, many words going through his head that needed to be said yet he held back. "I'll miss your kisses though!"  
  
Rin rolled his eyes but couldn't keep back the smile. "I'll mail you some or something then."   
  
"Not the same!" Nagisa exclaimed, laughing at the offer.  
  
The warning for boarding the train sounded and Rin swallows thickly. "Then this kiss is gonna have to last until I see  you again."   
  
Before Nagisa could respond his lips were being covered by Rin's own, taking his breath away and causing his heart to ache fiercely. Nagisa kissed back eagerly, trying to convey everything he couldn't in words through the action. His heart was beating, he was feeling lightheaded, and his limbs felt as heavy as lead as he held on to his Alpha for all that he could. Instincts driving him to be with the man in front of him, the man that was kissing him with equal passion.  
  
The kiss ended all too soon for either of them, yet the train would be leaving if they didn't part. They looked to one another with heaving breaths, and smiled wide as they hugged again.   
  
"I'll talk to you soon, okay?" Rin offered, reluctantly letting go of the Omega in his arms.  
  
"I'll be angry if you don't!" Nagisa giggled, waving as Rin grabbed his bag and rushed to get on the train before the doors closed. Rin waved back from the train until it started to move, taking him down the tracks. Nagisa waved to nothing as he felt something begin to stab into him, feeling as if he was missing something important. He finally brought his hand down to feel his neck, briefly checking for a bond mark yet knowing he wouldn't find one.  
  
"I love you, Rin-chan." he mumbled to himself before turning back to go home.  
  
Upon arriving home the Omega briefly considered staying home for the rest of the day but ultimately figured that at least school would offer a distraction from his still aching heart. So he put on his uniform and left the house, feet moving slowly as a feeling of dread came over him, he walked faster to try and escape the feeling that something was wrong.  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
Calls between the two were frequent, evenings spent talking to one another while Nagisa did homework and Rin finished his packing for Australia. Sometimes it was enough of a comfort just to know that the other was on the other side of the connection without even talking. Nagisa still had a weird feeling settling deep within him, but that feeling went away whenever he was in contact with Rin.  
  
By the end of the week communication stopped as Rin had officially gone off to Australia and needed time to settle in and adjust. A few emails were shared between them, but for the majority of the following month and a half there wasn't much spoken between them. Shortly after communication had slowed Nagisa had gotten sick, bedridden for most of a week before getting a little better, though still often finding himself getting sick from even his favorite foods. He kept this information out of the emails he sent to Rin, not wanting to worry him when he was getting used to his life in Australia. Nagisa chalked it up to being hit with the realization that he has truly been separated with the man he thought of as his Alpha.  
  
Things didn't set in for Nagisa until he came to the realization that he had missed his monthly heat.  
  
At first he ignored it. He had only been presented as an Omega for a relatively short time, it was entirely possible that he was just going through an irregular heat pattern, and getting sick surely would affect that somehow as well. So he brushed it off for the time being, going back to focus on school and the swim club.  
  
After Rin had settled in the first that the two of them did was video call, with Rin showing off his apartment to Nagisa. The Omega's mood picked up instantly at getting to see the Alpha once more. From that point on they made it a point to video call at least once a week when possible.   
  
A few weeks later, Haru left for Australia as well, finally sealing in his decision to go pro with Rin. Nagisa was grateful that he would still be able to be in contact with Haru as well, seeing as they would be sharing the apartment together. (Rin had gotten a two-bedroom one, knowing that Haru would be coming sooner or later.)  
  
  
And then one morning Nagisa saw it. He had glanced towards the mirror as he was changing for school and noticed the bulge in his stomach. In his mind he told himself to lay off the fatty foods and he continued getting ready for that day.  
  
  
Makoto was a university student, though he had decided that he wanted to coach kids in swimming officially. He announced his news to Nagisa one weekend when he was over visiting his parents that after university he planned to move back. Nagisa got so emotional over it that he began to sob as he clung to Makoto's arm desperately.  
  
  
The swim club was also noticing changes in Nagisa. Gou found that she was badgering him about eating healthy more often, going as far as to making his lunches for him and watching what he ate and snacked on, yet the weight in his stomach wasn't going down. And Rei couldn't help but notice how lethargic Nagisa was becoming, sure, he was lazy before, but this was just outrageous!  
  
Nagisa denied it all, going with the flow of things and continuing on as his happy self.  
  
  
  
"So tell me all about Australia!" Nagisa exclaimed one night into his computer, gazing at Rin on the screen.  
  
Rin shrugged. "It's fine. So far we haven't had much of a chance to relax from training. Coach is really getting on us about keeping up with exercise and whatnot." Rin answered, swiveling back and forth in his chair. "And living with Haru is also pretty okay, seeing as we're both pretty tired whenever we get home. I am getting tired of his cooking but I never get up early enough to beat him to it."  
  
Nagisa giggled. "Like you know how to cook anyhow!" he teased.  
  
"Hey! I can do better than you, with your burnt omelets!" Rin rebutted with a smirk.  
  
Nagisa rolled his eyes. "Fine then, you've got me there."  
  
Rin chuckled. "So how's Gou? I haven't really had time to call her back."  
  
"She's good! Sounds like she's gotten herself a boyfriend." Nagisa smiled.  
  
"Oh no. No. Tell her she's absolutely not allowed." Rin deadpanned.  
  
Nagisa laughed. "You're not her parent! Let her live a little!" he smiled. "Other than that all is normal. She's still pestering me about what I eat. It's getting to be a bit much, too. I've actually been following her eating plan for me! What else does she want!" the blonde groaned, settling his chin in his hands.  
  
Rin shook his head. "She's as competitive as me, she just wants you guys to win it all this year."   
  
Nagisa nodded. "I do too. But it still isn't quite the same without Haru-chan and Mako-chan." he sighed. "Are you guys gonna try and come up for the tournaments?" he asked.  
  
Rin let out a long sigh. "I don't think we can. Coach has our schedules filled up. I don't actually think either of us will be able to go back home for a while. Still unsure about holidays too just cause plane tickets are really expensive right now."  
  
Nagisa nodded, trying to hold back his disappointment. "It'll be soon enough!" he and Rin shared a smile. Nagisa held back a giggle as Rin tried yet failed at holding back a yawn. "Go. Sleep. You have training again tomorrow, yeah?"  
  
Rin nodded. "I do. I guess I'll then for tonight. It was good to see you. Talk to you soon."  
  
"Talk to you soon, Rin-chan!" Nagisa replied, blowing a kiss to the screen and Rin giving a cocky smile before signing off.  
  
Nagisa stared at the screen a moment longer and sighed. He still had homework to finish. He closed his laptop and had just gotten his book out from his backpack when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Nagisa offered, looking over to see his sister walk in, holding a plastic bag. "What's up?" he asked, a weird, heavy, empty feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"We need to talk." she started gently. The feeling in Nagisa's stomach intensified, head going a little dizzy as he watched her sit on his bed. "I've noticed..." she took a breath. "I love you, baby bro, and I care about you and that's why I'm bringing this up." Nagisa nodded in understanding. "I've noticed that you haven't gone through a heat in a couple months." she began gently.  
  
Nagisa swallowed thickly and tried not to cough. "I've been a little sick lately, I think it's just an irregular cycle." he tried to pass off.  
  
His sister looked to him with worried eyes. "That's also it. You've been sick off an on lately. And..." she had to stop to think about her words. "you've also... been gaining a little weight." she expressed. Nagisa darted his eyes around, trying to think of a response, but she cut him off. "So I went to the store and I bought you a pregnancy test." she stated. "And before you say anything! I know it could be any number of things. But before we go to the Omega clinic I wanted to try this. Just do it for me, baby bro, I'm worried about you."  
  
Nagisa felt tears begin to well in his eyes and he tried to blink them away. "I..." he began, sniffling as he tried to avoid her gaze. "Okay." he whispered out, lost for what else to do.  
  
His sister stood, going over to him and offering him her hand to hold. "It'll be okay." she assured, "Come get me if you need me." she informed before handing him the bag. She placed a kiss to his forehead and left him quietly.  
  
Nagisa let himself have a moment to calm himself down. It wasn't anything. He couldn't be pregnant. He'd only had sex once and he wasn't even in heat. Male Omegas don't get pregnant outside of their heats! That's just how it works. He wasn't pregnant, maybe there was something wrong with him but he certainly wasn't pregnant. And with that thought in his head he made his way to the bathroom, staring at the box for another long moment before opening it.  
  
  
The wait was awful. He knew he couldn't be pregnant but there was still this agonizing wait. It seemed like time had decided to stop, just for this. It always flew by and went so fast any other time but now, of course time would slow down just for this!   
  
And when the time finally (finally!!) came, he was once again scared to look. There was a heavy rock suddenly sitting in the bottom of his stomach and he felt like he didn't have control of his hands, his head was spinning and he briefly recognized that he was shaking a little bit.   
  
Positive.  
  
It was over. He had gotten his answer and it was fine! It was... positive?   
  
The next thing Nagisa was aware of was the fact that he was on the floor, his legs had failed him and he had crumpled to the floor and tears were pouring from his eyes as he sobbed, unable to control his sobs. How could it be positive? That's not possible. His mind struggled to comprehend.  
  
So he was pregnant. He couldn't deny it anymore. And the baby was Rin's. He and Rin were having a child. Nagisa hadn't even finished school yet. He couldn't tell him. He couldn't tell anybody. All the possible outcomes of telling Rin or Rin finding out ended... not how he wanted. He didn't want any of that for Rin. He could take care of himself but he couldn't do that to Rin. He couldn't tell anybody.  
  
The door swung open suddenly and Nagisa's sister was there, cradling him in her arms. "Are you okay?"  
  
Nagisa tried to nod but then another flood of tears was coming out and he shook his head violently, mourning his loss even though it hadn't even all sunk in yet. "No! No I'm not!" he repeated to himself through the sobs, "I'm not okay, I'm not okay!"   
  
His sister did her best to dry his tears, holding him protectively and doing her best to calm him down. His mother was the next to arrive at the scene.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, frantic that her child was in such agony.   
  
"I'm so sorry, mom. I'm sorry! I'm pregnant! I'm so sorry!" he sobbed, clutching his stomach tightly as if he could just hide his biological state and hide it away for good.  
  
"Shhh, baby, shhh. We can figure this out, it'll be alright." she tried to assure, both women doting on the blonde Omega and slowly bringing him down from his sobbing. "Who is the father?" his mother asked gently, holding his hands between hers.  
  
Nagisa shook his head and fought to hold back another wave of tears. He failed and sniffled as fresh tears fell from his sore eyes. "I don't know. I don't even know." he sniffled, voice hoarse. "I don't have any idea. I'm so sorry, mom." he cried, clutching to her like a lifeline.   
  
His mother seemed confused, yet she again started a soothing hum for him. "What do you mean you don't know?" she asked.  
  
The Omega shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. There have been... multiple... people..." he confessed, heart lurching and crying out more from lying to his own mother.  
  
"Oh." she breathed out. "That's okay. This will all work itself out, okay? I'm here to support you. You're still my child." she promised with all the patience and love in the world.  
  
Nagisa's eyes screwed shut again in a poor attempt to stop his tears from the heartfelt words from his mother. His sister still backing him up and rocking him in her arms.  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should mention that the rest of the pregnancy will skip so if you're uncomfortable with that, no worries. Just know that the time in between now and where the next chapter picks up will be talked about later so you'll get the filler information but no details.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes!
> 
> Nagisa's job is essentially a maid/waiter for a hotel with an attached restaurant. This is simply because of how it fit into the story and whatnot and is totally fictional, I mean, this is Omegaverse for pete's sake.
> 
> And also! Rin assumes that Nagisa's child is a male because male Omega's are only capable of having male children unless their Alpha was a female. Though seeing as female Alphas are as rare as male Omegas this was a safe assumption. (Same goes for a female/female couple, they can only have female children unless the Alpha is a male. There's only a gender variation for the child if the parents are of two different sexes.)
> 
> Bonus points to whoever gets the reference I'm making with Kaede's name!!

"Your hair is getting pretty long!" Rin chuckled as the video finally popped up.

Nagisa smiled and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, haven't really had a chance to go get it cut yet." he explained.

Rin nodded. "So how has living alone been so far?" 

Nagisa shrugged. "I'm not really alone... I mean, Makoto comes over a whole lot since my place is on the way to the swim club and back." he explained. "How's Haru-chan?" Nagisa asked.

"He's doing pretty well. His English could still use some work but he's getting it!" Rin smiled.

Nagisa smiled back, happy to be talking the Alpha again. After Rin had started to enter into official swim meets their video chats had been limited to about once a month, and calls were only able to be made every other week or so. Both of the males had separate lives at this point.

"So you're still working, right?" Rin asked. 

Nagisa nodded and let out a sigh. "My manager has been insisting on me taking more overnight shifts, but he also won't let me take more days off so it isn't really balancing."

Rin scoffed. "He's such an asshole, why don't you quit? Go to university or something?" he offered.

Nagisa shook his head. "That's not really an option for me. I don't have the funds to do that." he informed, resigned.

Rin nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair and playing with the drawstring to his pants. 

"So!" Nagisa started, desperate to change the subject. "How have things been lately?" he asked. "The tabloids here have been all over you and Haru-chan. Lots of gossip about new lovers in your lives." he teased lightly, heart wrenching the wrong way at the words. "Got any Omegas in your life?" he asked.

Rin looked up at the screen at him. "Well, actually..." he started, biting his lip and smiling. "There is one." he answered with a nod. 

Nagisa felt all air rush out of his lungs, leaving him breathless and lightheaded. "Really?" he asked with a pleasant smile. "Tell me about them." he offered.

Rin looked away again, trying to hide his smile. "Well, he's really cute." he started. Nagisa could feel his heart dropping by the second, but he knew something like this could happen. Time changes things after all. "He's been a big motivator for me through these past grueling months. But... we live pretty far away." Rin looked up at the screen again. "I miss him like crazy." he finished softly.

Nagisa looked to the screen, hope daring to rise up in his chest. "I miss you so much, Rin." he whispered softly.

Rin smiled a little, nodding to the screen in acknowledgement. "What about you? Got any Alphas in your life?" he offered.

Feeling playful, Nagisa nodded and started to look around dreamily. "I do. He's been away for a while but he's doing really great things. I'm really proud of him." Nagisa started. "He's so close to achieving his dream and I couldn't be happier for him." he smiled. "The only downside is that I haven't really gotten to see him in a while." he finished.

Rin looked down and nodded with a sigh. "It's been so long." he chuckled breathlessly. Nagisa nodded. "Well... tell me about what's been going on with you? How has work been other than the awful hours?" he asked.

Nagisa groaned and leaned back in his chair. "So bad. I've been so clumsy lately."

"Haven't you always been clumsy?"

"Yes! But not this bad! I think it's because I haven't really gotten any sleep lately from working such weird hours." he sighed. "Just today when I was cleaning out the coffee maker in one of the rooms I tripped and it spilled all over the sheets of the bed. Coffee grinds! All over the sheets! And last week when I was working the restaurant I slipped and broke an armful of plates! And I nearly got water all over the computer! Its a wonder I'm still employed!" he breathed out.

Rin couldn't hold back a laugh. "Oh my goodness, Nagisa! You should not handle delicate things! Fuck, you'd be an awful parent with how clumsy you are!" he chuckled.

Nagisa stilled, looking down into his lap and taking a shaky breath. "I mean... I've made a lot of mistakes but I'm not that bad, I don't think." he offered quietly.

Rin's laughter slowed, looking to his screen in confusion. "Wait... what?"

Nagisa looked to him with a sad smile. "I uhm... I have a kid..." he admitted softly.

Rin's face fell as he processed the information. "Oh..." he started. "Who is... I mean..." he started. Rin swallowed thickly. "With Makoto...?" he asked uncertainly.

Nagisa shook his head. "Oh no. Definitely not Makoto." Nagisa answered before his throat closed up on him. He sniffled again and breathed out.

"Then uh... who is... his father...?" Rin asked quietly.

Nagisa's nose scrunched up and he looked down as he tried to quell the rising tears. "I don't know." he answered simply. He gave himself another moment before feeling a bit more composed and looking up. "It's really hard to talk about, still." he elaborated. "I guess... long story short I don't have a clue who his father is. But that's all I'm really able to say... It's still too hard to talk about anything else on the matter." he answered vaguely. "It's been really hard." he finished in a whisper.

Realization dawned on Rin's face and he sat up straighter. "Oh..." 

Nagisa wanted to kick himself for not being able to tell him the truth.

Rin's face fell into an expression of worry. "I'm sorry... I... I didn't know." he said. "Uhm... how old is he?"

"Four years old." Nagisa answered. "His name is Kaede."

"Oh wow... Why didn't you tell me?" Rin asked, a little hurt.

Nagisa shrugged. "I ignored it at first. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to acknowledge that I had... gotten pregnant. And then it was more just... I was living it and everything was so confusing that... that when I talked to you it was my escape from having to live in the reality that was having a child." he answered. "So it never really occurred to me to tell you." he explained. "I mean... I had to leave school and finish high school online once I started getting bigger. And I couldn't go on to university because I had him already and he was just an infant. I needed to work to support him because I couldn't let my parents support us both for long." Nagisa sighed again. "You were my safe escape away from needing to think about all that."

Rin nodded. "Well... tell me about him?" he asked. 

Nagisa smiled a little. "He's really great. He's always smiling and always so happy." Nagisa looked to the side. "I think I have a picture over here." he rummaged around on his desk for a moment before settling back. "This is a picture of the first time I took him to the pool." he informed, holding the picture in front of the camera.

Rin looked to his screen and couldn't help but smile at the picture of Nagisa holding a child in his arms. The little boy had blonde hair similar to his mother's and a happy grin on his face, water splashing from his feet. "He looks just like you." Rin mentioned.

"Thank the gods for that." Nagisa breathed out. He chuckled. "He actually really looks up to you. It really is a wonder I haven't told you about him yet."

Rin cocked his head to the side. "He looks up to me?" 

Nagisa nodded, looking down at the photo in his hands. "He wants to be an Olympic swimmer just like you!" Nagisa smiled. "He absolutely loves watching your races on TV. He'll just sit on the couch with his mouth hanging open in anticipation." Nagisa giggled. 

"Haru's the faster swimmer usually though. Why not him?" Rin asked, confused.

Nagisa shrugged. "I have no idea." he laughed. "But it really makes it easy for me to sit down and watch your races without needing to occupy him in some way. He gets so into it. He's always asking when you'll be racing again!" 

Rin couldn't help but smile. "Well let him know that my next race is two weeks from now!" he laughed, feeling a little bashful from the information.

"I will." Nagisa smiled. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, Rin."

Rin shook his head. "I understand." he gave a small smile. "This...." he got embarrassed again. "It doesn't... change how I feel about you." he finished, cringing a little at his own words.

Nagisa smiled. "I'm so glad." he sighed with relief. "Goodness, I miss you so much, Rin." he sniffled again, overcome with emotion at the moment.

"I miss you, too." Rin replied. "Everything is cool, though, yeah? So don't worry. I gotta get some sleep though, I've got practice early tomorrow morning."

They said their goodbyes, Nagisa feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, yet the weight had only lessened a little instead of lifting completely.

"Mommy...?" a voice came from the doorway.

Nagisa turned around to his child, clutching his blanket and standing in the doorway uncertainly. "Yes, baby?" he asked, getting up and walking over to pick up his son.

"I woke up and can't get back to sleep. Can I stay in here with you?" Kaede asked, clutching to his mother as he was picked up.

"Of course!" Nagisa smiled, kissing his son's cheek and turning towards the bed. "I have some good news for you anyway. Rin is going to be in another race soon!" 

Kaede gasped as he was set on the bed. "Really?! Mommy we gotta watch it!"

Nagisa laughed, settling into bed beside his son. "Of course we will. We wouldn't miss it for anything!" he assured, wrapping his arms around the small body next to him. "Now try to get some sleep, okay? Mako-chan is pick you up tomorrow for your swim lessons!"

Kaede smiled and planted a kiss to his mom's cheek. "I will now that I'm in the comfy bed!" he giggled.

"Is that the only reason you're in here?" Nagisa asked, mock offense on his features.

Kaede laughed again. "No. I just wanna be with you." he smiled, eyes fluttering closed.

Nagisa smiled, holding his son close and looking up at the ceiling as he listened to Kaede's steady breathing and the hours tick by from the clock on his wall.

 

***

 

Nagisa felt giddy as he waited for Rin to get online so they could video chat. He had gotten a call from the Alpha earlier in the day saying that he had big news for him but he'd have to wait because he wanted to see his face when he told him. So here he sits, waiting in eager anticipation to get to talk to the Alpha once again.

The moment the 'online' sign popped up next to Rin's name he hit the call button, watching the screen change as Rin answered.

Rin was chuckling, hand still on the mouse. "Someone eager?" he teased.

"You tell me you have big news and then hang up, come on! I've been curious about it all day!" Nagisa smiled.

Rin couldn't hold back his smile. "There's a break coming up for us. He informed. Meaning I'll be flying back to Japan." 

Nagisa's mouth fell open. "Rin... that's amazing!" he exclaimed. "How long will you be in town for...?"

"I've worked it out so I'll be there for a month. I don't have any races for a while and I can keep up training while I'm over there, still." he smiled. 

Nagisa's face lit up. "So can we see each other? Oh, Rin... please tell me we can see each other." he pleaded.

Rin nodded. "Of course we can. I'll be in town long enough and I was definitely planning to see you. I'd... also really like to meet Kaede, if that's okay?" he asked tentatively.

Nagisa giggled. "He would love that!" he took a breath, excitement taking over as he gazed at the red head from across the screen. "You're more than welcome to stay with us, as well, if you want. We've got room here." he offered. "I understand if you don't want to but the offer is open!"

Rin looked surprised. "Really? That'd... be nice actually. I'd save money on a hotel room and... I could see you more." he glanced away from the screen then, embarrassed by his words.

"Then it's settled. You'll stay with us." Nagisa smiled. "When are you coming?"

"The first of next month, actually. So in just a couple weeks now." Rin answered.

Nagisa couldn't contain his smile. "This is so wonderful!" he exclaimed, then his eyes widened and he looked towards the door, listening for a second before turning back to the screen. "Oops. Hope I didn't just wake Kaede." he giggled.

Rin laughed, and the pair fell into their typical talks until Rin decided to go to sleep. Nagisa logged off and fell into bed with a smile as he thought of all the things he should do before Rin arrives.

 

***

 

Nagisa stood over the stove, watching his hands shake as he tried to control his breathing. Rin was coming today. Nagisa had offered to meet him at the station as he came in but Rin had declined saying that his family would be meeting with him first and he would make his way over after visiting with them for a while. The Omega had gotten a text saying that he was on his way and would be there soon not long ago, and now Nagisa was just trying to busy himself so he wouldn't have to focus on the knot that was curling tighter and tighter in his stomach.

He didn't realize how much time had passed when he heard the knock at the door sometime later. He could feel his heart beat speed up and suddenly it was real, it was happening, he was going to see his dear Alpha again and a rush of emotion went through him as he rushed to the door. Before turning the knob he took another deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, then he was opening the door.

Rin seemed calm as he came into view, an easy smile falling onto his features. "Yo." he greeted casually, taking a step into the apartment without waiting for an invitation.

Nothing could have prepared Nagisa for the emotion that overcame him in that moment, his head was spinning, he suddenly found that he didn't know how to speak, and his fingers felt like dead weight despite how he was shaking. He took a step back to allow more room for Rin to come him, watching as the Alpha closed the door behind him and dropped his bag down without ever taking his eyes off the Omega in front of him.

"It's... it's good to see you... Nagisa." Rin said softly, taking a step closer to the shorter male.

Nagisa's instincts were on high, the scent of his Alpha was washing over him once more as they stood together in the entryway. A whine rose from his throat before he could catch it, and he was reaching up to press his trembling fingers to Rin's face as if testing if he was really there or not. "Rin... you're here..." he choked out softly.

The Alpha chuckled and brought one hand up to hold Nagisa's wrist lightly to help steady him, the other cupping the Omega's cheek and tracing backwards to run through his hair. The blonde whined again and stepped a little closer, looking up at Rin as he let his hands explore the taller male's face, drinking in his scent.

Tension in the air grew around them, emotions running high and thick between them as they stared at one another, drinking in the others presence and relishing in the closeness. Before the moment could drag on, though, a whistle could be heard from the kitchen, alerting the couple that water was boiling.

"Oh! Uhm... I had some water on for tea, if you'd like some?" Nagisa offered, taking a step back and bringing his hands down. 

Rin still seemed startled from being pulled from the moment so quickly. "Yeah, that sounds great." he replied, kicking off his shoes and picking up his bag once more as he followed Nagisa to the kitchen. As he followed the Omega he took the time to look around, noting the variety of children's toys scattered here and there. They seemed to be organized, though there were still a few toys scattered from recent play and Rin found that it was really sinking in for himself that Nagisa had a child.

The kitchen was clean, if not a little disorganized, with colorful pencil and crayon drawings covering most surfaces. "So where is the little tyke?" Rin asked, stopping to observe the drawings that covered the front of the refrigerator.

"I went ahead and took him to his daycare as usual. I figured that we could have some time together to catch up first before I introduce you two." Nagisa explained, pouring the water to let the tea set to serve. He turned away from the counter and looked to Rin again, watching as the Alpha examined each of the drawings. "Sorry the place is so messy, I meant to clean up more before you got here but before I knew it the time was gone and I didn't really get a chance to." he shrunk into himself, suddenly very aware of the state of his apartment and increasingly nervous about Rin seeing his home.

Rin turned to him and gave a reassuring smile. "This is more like you though, and it's homey." he walked towards the table that sat in the middle of the room to set his bag down near the feet as he took a seat. He couldn't help but chuckle at seeing the stray crayon marks on the table at the place where Kaede must sit. "Seems he's a bit of an artist." he mentioned.

Nagisa giggled lightly and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Yeah. I don't know what it is but he absolutely loves to color. I don't even know what to do with all the drawings anymore! I'm running out of places to hang them but I could never get rid of a single one."

"Why not put them in a scrapbook or album?" Rin offered, thanking the Omega as he served the tea to him and then took a seat opposite him. 

Nagisa's eyes widened and he smiled. "I should do that!" he smiled as he looked around the small kitchen. "Then they'd be safe, too." he added.

Rin nodded, taking a sip of the tea and letting himself relax into the chair. "It's been a long time since I've been back." he sighed. "It's nice to get to see family again."

Nagisa nodded, looking over and examining the male before him. He looked bigger now, stronger, and certainly more confident in himself by the way he carried himself. "Why didn't you just stay at home? You could have, you didn't have to stay with me." Nagisa asked, suddenly curious.

Rin lifted his head up to look at Nagisa. "I'm closer to my other friends here. I'm closer to the facilities that I'll go to train at here. I'll still have plenty of time to go visit my family, but this was far more convenient." he explained, "Besides," he added, "I get to see you more often by staying here." his cheeks dusted pink at the words.

Nagisa felt his own face heat up but he couldn't contain his smile. "You're so sweet, Rin-chan!" he giggled. "Well, I hope you'll feel at home here." he smiled. 

From there the two of them spent the afternoon fully catching up, having more time to really talk than their brief skype calls had been. At one point Nagisa had made them sandwiches to eat as they shared stories and enjoyed the others company. 

Early in the afternoon Rin caught himself yawning and laughed to himself about how his trip had well and truly worn him out, perhaps more than practice usually did.

"Would you like to take a nap?" Nagisa asked. He stood and gathered the dishes, taking them to the sink. "You're free to my bed if you like." he offered.

Rin stretched his arms up as he stood. "Actually a nap sounds fantastic. I don't want to kick you out of your bed though..." 

Nagisa shook his head. "You're tired and my bed is rather comfortable. I don't actually have any futons anyway since I splurged for an actual bed when we moved." he offered a smile, "I'll stay up and try to clean up a little anyway so you're not kicking me out of anything."

Rin nodded, stepping over to the Omega and nuzzling his hair. "Thanks."

Nagisa leaned into him for a brief moment. "No problem!" He found himself resisting the urge to turn and cling to the Alpha, to bury his face in his shoulder and let out all the affection that he felt for the other male in that moment.

Instead, the blonde steeled himself and turned away, leading Rin back into the living room and to the back hallway to the bedrooms. They passed Kaede's room which was across from the bathroom, and Rin glanced in to see the bed and an unused desk in the room, along with a myriad of toys covering the floor. The back of the hallway led to Nagisa's bedroom, bare except for a queen bed in the center of the room with a desk along one wall that housed Nagisa's computer and other paperworks. There were three doors in the room, on led to the hallway, one to the closet, and one seemed to open to a small joined bathroom with a sink and mirror attached to a medicine cabinet inside.

"Get some rest, traveling is hard." Nagisa ordered, allowing Rin to step into the room. "Just let me know if you need anything." he offered before he ducked back out of the room, allowing Rin some space.

Rin looked around the room and couldn't help but compare it to the colorful and expressive room the Omega once had in his family's house. Compared to that one this one seemed... less lived in. The Omega's scent wasn't as permeated through the room as the other rooms of the apartment had been, though as Rin thought that he also realized that it would make sense that Nagisa would spend more time with his son in other rooms of the home rather than this one.

Shaking himself from his thoughts he allowed himself to fall into the bed and curl around to sleep, thought even as he drifted off he couldn't help but find it odd that even the sheets and pillows didn't have a strong scent of the Omega.


	6. Chapter 6

Rin woke sometime later feeling considerably refreshed and much more relaxed. He sat and stretched out his limbs, yawning and letting consciousness take over once again. Looking at the clock he realized it was only early evening and got up to leave the room to find Nagisa. 

The Omega wasn't in the living room and he didn't seem to be anywhere in the apartment, though Rin did note how the toys in Kaede's room and in the living area had been picked up and many of the loose drawings had been stacked into a neat pile on the coffee table. He looked into the kitchen to find that it was empty as well except for a note placed on the table.

'Rin-chan, I'll be back soon from picking up Kaede and dinner so make yourself at home! -Nagisa' it read simply with a crude drawing of a smiley face in the corner with the Omega's name. Rin smiled and turned as he heard the front door open.

"Kaede, wait! You have to take your shoes off!" Nagisa chastised with a chuckle.

"Are those his shoes, mommy? His feet are so big!" a much smaller voice was heard, full of amazement and excitement.

Rin left the kitchen to step into the living area to look into the main entranceway. Nagisa was crouched down helping a small boy that bore an incredible resemblance to the Omega take his jacket off while the boy struggled in a useless attempt to make things go faster. The Alpha laughed at the scene and gave a grin when the boy looked up, red eyes wide and shining as all his other movement stopped as he stared at Rin with wonder in his eyes. "There's the little man!" 

Kaede was still as he let his mother lift each leg to take off his shoes one by one, too dumbstruck to help in the moment. "Mommy..." he whispered loudly, never taking his eyes off of Rin.

"Yes, sweetie?" Nagisa giggled, setting the shoes aside and looking to his son.

"He's really here..." Kaede stated in the same loud whisper.

Nagisa covered his mouth to try and keep himself from laughing out loud, shoulders shaking from the force of keeping it in.

Rin choked back his own laughter as he nodded. "Yeah, I am." he replied simply, unable to say much else for fear of laughing.

Nagisa calmed himself and stood, grabbing the plastic bag he had set down before as he did so. "Go up to him, sweetie. Introduce yourself." Nagisa urged, slipping off his own shoes and stepping up further into the apartment.

Kaede finally tore his eyes away from Rin to stare up at his mother like he had two heads. He followed behind his mom, clinging tightly to his pant leg as they walked closer.

"I don't bite." Rin offered, crouching down to be at the child's eye level. "Hi, I'm Rin." he held out his hand to the boy, hoping to help dispel some of his shyness.

"I'm Kaede and I'm a big fan of you!" the blonde blurted out, grabbing Rin's larger hand with both of his smaller ones. "Mommy and I watch all your races!" he continued, suddenly feeling much braver.

Nagisa's cheeks burned pink as he looked to the side. "Kaede, you didn't need to say that." he mentioned, embarrassed a little by his son's proclamation.

"But it's true!" Kaede replied, rolling his eyes at his mother.

The Alpha smiled, well I'm glad to know that I have such wonderful supporters as you and your mother!" Rin chuckled, standing once more and smirking to the Omega. Nagisa glanced away with a pout. Taking pity on him, Rin reached down to take the takeout bag from Nagisa's fingers. "So, didn't want to cook burnt omelets for dinner?" he teased.

"Rin-chan!" Nagisa exclaimed, eyes wide and lips pressed into a line. "I'm much better at cooking than I used to be, I'll have you know!" he stated, feeling indignant. "I just didn't want to worry about dishes tonight, is all." he added.

The Alpha laughed, setting the bag on the kitchen table and nodding. "I'll refer to Kaede's judgement for the matter." he looked down to the child who seemed amused by the antics between his mother and his idol, "So Kaede, would you say your mom is a good cook? Does he make nice meals for you to eat?" he asked.

Kaede seemed about to burst out of his skin he was so happy to be getting attention from the red head. "He's good! Not as good as Uncle Makoto, but still good!" he answered with a nod, acting like he was just asked the most important question and he was proud of himself for answering correctly.

Nagisa sighed and shrugged. "You only say that because Makoto will make you fish sticks whenever you want them and I won't. I can't live off of fish sticks unlike you, you little bear." he joked, reaching down to tickle his son.

Kaede squealed and tried to pull away from the invading fingers, laughing all the while. "Mommy! No!" he giggled and tried to squirm away to no avail.

"Not until you tell Rin that I'm a good cook!" Nagisa ordered, smiling and pulling his son further into his arms to torture him some more. 

Rin suddenly felt a swell of fondness towards the Omega as he watched the two interact, Nagisa playing easily with the small boy that was so obviously his own. To see the Omega that he still felt for with a child stirred upon some internal instincts that hadn't really been touched upon until that point. Protective instincts. Instincts that urged him to make a family. But this wasn't his family, and he fought to settle those feelings deep inside him before he ruined anything about the fragile line of relationship that he and Nagisa were gliding across.

Kaede eventually relented after finding that he could do nothing against his mother, calling for mercy and admitting that he enjoyed his mother's meals. Nagisa smiled and hugged his son close, lifting him up to set him at his place at the table with a thank you.

Nagisa looked over to Rin, a motherly, Omegan glow seeming to radiate from him from the Alpha's perspective. "Are you hungry, Rin-chan?" he asked.

Rin took a moment to respond, swallowing around the lump in his throat at the sight. "Yeah, what's for dinner?" he asked easily.

They ate until nothing was left, conversation flowing easily and usually centered around the four year old whose mere presence demanded attention. No one seemed to mind as they listened to him talk about his day and his friends and mentioning how excited he was for his next swim class, he wanted to show Rin what he could do. Rin promised to go and watch him while he was in town.

Cleaning up after dinner was easy, and the three retired to the living room for the rest of the evening, Nagisa and Rin fell into conversation once more and Kaede only interrupted every once in a while to show Rin something as he contently played with himself and watched the TV. Soon after, Nagisa was excusing himself to help Kaede get ready for bed and Rin was left to relax on the couch and surf the channels of the television for something to watch.

"If you're tired, feel free to go back and sleep, by the way." Nagisa offered upon returning, gracefully settling himself on the couch with one leg pulled beneath him. "I'll take the couch tonight." 

Rin startled and looked to him. "I couldn't do that, no. That wouldn't be fair!"

The blonde chuckled and shrugged. "The couch folds out to a bed, it's not a big deal." he informed. "I mean... I would offer for us both to sleep in the bed but... I'm a little nervous about how Kaede might view that. I don't really know how to explain our relationship to him yet. I can't really explain our relationship to myself, either." he said the last part quietly and the full meaning of those words hung heavily between them.

Rin chewed on his lip for a moment and looked down into the empty teacup he held in his hand. "You're really great with him." he stated.

"I try." the Omega responded simply. "It's really hard, sometimes."

The red head nodded and looked back up over to his partner. "I kind of feel like a major dick for the things I said before." he admitted, Nagisa gave him a confused look, "The comments I made... about you being a bad parent." he clarified. "They're not true. You're doing really well."

Nagisa couldn't help the soft gasp that left between his parted lips at the words. "Oh..." he said dumbly. "Rin, you were just joking, it's okay."

Rin shook his head. "It's not okay. And... I'm sorry about that."

Nagisa waved him off. "It's fine! No worries, okay?" he smiled, letting the subject drop and turning to better things. "I do have to work tomorrow so I'll be leaving in the afternoon. Makoto will be picking Kaede up from daycare and bringing him back and getting him fed and everything so you don't need to worry about babysitting or anything!"

Rin nodded. "I haven't seen Makoto for years either. We talk every once in a while when Haru calls him but it'll be nice to see him again, I think. When will you be back from work?"

Nagisa sighed. "I should be back sometime around midnight, but I'll know earlier if my manager will want me to stay longer and if he does then Kaede will probably spend the night with Makoto." he answered.

"What? Don't want me watching the kid?" Rin joked with a smile.

Nagisa's eyes widened. "No! No! It's not that, I just figured that since you just met him and all you might not be comfortable watching over him just yet. Or ever! He's a bit of a handful sometimes and I don't want you to feel like you're working while you're back on vacation. Makoto does this a lot so I know he's okay with it and I didn't want to push any of that responsibility on you. You should relax while you're back in town."

Rin shrugged. "You know, I wouldn't mind learning to help care for him if you wanted. I'm gonna be here for a while so..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed by his words.

Nagisa smiled. "Thank you very much, Rin. I'll keep that in mind."

The night progressed smoothly between them, only interrupted by a brief argument about who would be sleeping on the couch which Rin won, though Nagisa took the time to make up the couch for the Alpha while he went to get ready for bed. Rin gave him a stern look upon returning and seeing that the coffee table had been moved and the couch pulled out with fresh sheets and pillows covering it. Nagisa only giggled and gave a sly grin.

Goodnights were shared and slightly awkward between the couple, both craving a more physical interaction but neither ready to initiate. So they left each other with simple words and a tension that was nearly palpable in the air from how neither could contain how their scents were calling to the other. It was still so soon.

Rin laid in bed that night, chest tight and heart aching that the object of his affections was so close, yet the reality of how much had changed over time was sinking in. Nagisa had priorities now, and rekindling their romance was not one of them. His Alpha instincts also flared near violently when he thought of Kaede and how Rin hadn't been able to save or support the Omega through all the scenarios running through his head. His fingers clenched tightly into the covers around him as he tried to calm himself and turn his mind onto other things so he could sleep.

Meanwhile Nagisa was sitting on the edge of his bed, head swimming and instincts crying out over not telling Rin the truth, holding him back from getting the Alpha back and letting himself and his son be taken care of by such a great example of an Alpha. He agonized over what to do, how would he tell him?, when would he tell him?, did he even have the confidence to tell him at all? Tears welled up in his eyes, resigning himself to the worst and taking what he figured was the coward's way out: just take the secret to his grave, no one needed to know anyway.

 

***

 

Rin woke early the next morning, going for a jog to wake himself up and finding breakfast waiting for him when he got back. Kaede was still bleary-eyed and had his hair all mussed up from sleep as he sat in his seat and shoveled his breakfast into his mouth. 

"Good morning, little man!" he greeted, ruffling the head of blonde hair. Kaede gave him a sleepy smile, cheeks swollen with food. He turned to Nagisa then, taking the plate he was handed with a thank you and soft good morning to the Omega.

"I was surprised to see you gone when I got up this morning." Nagisa commented. "I figured you'd be sleeping in." 

Rin shook his head as he took the seat opposite Kaede. "I need to keep up with training. I'll still be keeping up with my regular practice routine while I'm here." he shrugged, taking a hearty bite of the omelet on his plate. He seemed to consider the food as he chewed, Nagisa looking at him as he sipped his tea from across the table. "It's okay." he finally decided, going in for another bite.

"Hey!" Nagisa exclaimed, indignant at the response. "It's better than the last one I made you! I've had practice now." 

The red head chuckled. "It's good, Nagisa." he settled, tucking in to the food and finishing it off quickly.

The Omega settled, scent calming down as well as he tried to help Kaede wake up further. "So if you're going to be practicing does that mean you won't be available this afternoon?" he asked.

"I can be. I don't have to practice as intensely as I was so long as I keep swimming to keep my body in practice. Why? Did you have something in mind?" 

"I was thinking maybe you could come shopping with me. I know you try to keep to a little bit of a diet routine, though I cheated you out of that today." he smiled, "This way you can pick out some of your own stuff to eat." he offered.

Rin nodded, "Sure, we can go after I get back." 

 

Later that afternoon Rin realized that he had time to himself after Nagisa left for work. He figured just watching TV would be the safe thing to do, but snooping a little bit seemed a much less boring and appealing option. Though to be on the safe side he kept to just the bookcase that stood on the far wall of the living room, going through the small collection of novels and "How-to" parent books before he stumbled upon the yearbooks. Bingo.

Taking a few off the self, Rin let himself sprawl back out on the couch which hadn't been folded back and started to flip through the first one. It was from Nagisa's first year of high school. He flipped through and found Nagisa, Makoto, and Haru's photos, laughing to himself about how little Haru has changed. There was a two page spread further in the book for the swim club with few pictures of the small team in the book itself, but several loose photos fell out when the page was opened. Rin took the moment to look over the yearbook photos first, wondering in the back of his mind how Rei was doing when he noticed him in the pictures before turning to the ones that had fallen out. 

The first photo he noticed was the copy of the photo that the four friends had taken as children in the relay at Iwatobi, written on the back were their names and the year. The next photo was the near perfect recreation of the early photo with the addition of Rei from the botched relay they swam that year, names and date were printed on the back. From there were a small collection of various photos of the boys doing things in the club, Rin even found himself in more than just a couple of them. On the backs of all of them were names and dates in his sister's handwriting, along with simple notes about the photos that were taken. Rin smiled and silently thanked his sister for having the thought to take photos of them all.

After finding nothing else of interest in that particular book he moved on to the next one, Nagisa's second year. He flipped through the pages, wondering if there would be more loose photos and he was not disappointed. The swim club's spread in that book was more polished than the previous year and there were a considerable amount more loose photos to go through.

Many were of the team, once again with Gou's neat handwriting on the backs of them. Though this time there were more of Nagisa and the other members, with Nagisa's handwriting on the back and the notes written much more spontaneous and less understandable. One photo featured Nagisa in the corner as he held and aimed the camera to the focus behind him, Haru, Makoto, and Rei as they walked side by side on the sidewalk outside of the high school and the note on the back read "Fun!!!" in large letters.

He continued flipping through them, beginning to find himself in more and more of them before the photos stopped being in a school setting at all and started to be highly personal, private photos taken of just him and Nagisa. He recognized many of them from their frequent dates together, though he couldn't ever recall Nagisa taking any pictures, but that would explain why Rin wasn't looking to the camera in any of the photos either. One photo particularly struck him. It was a photo of himself shaking water from his hair as he stepped up the beach, the cove that he and Nagisa had claimed as their own, with the message on the back simply reading: "I will miss him."

When he picked up the yearbook again to shift his position he was surprised when a few more photos fell out, tucked away in further pages. They all featured a sleeping Rin with Nagisa holding up the camera to get them both in the shot. Rin recognized Nagisa's colorful pillows. One photo was simply Nagisa lying next to him with a smile on his face, the message on the back reading "he's cute when he's asleep!". Another was a photo of Nagisa smiling sleepily into the camera, Rin barely seen behind him as they spooned with a message reading "BEST snuggle buddy". And the last photo was the couple facing one another, noses touching and hair a mess, Nagisa's eyes were closed but a smile tugged his lips and the message on the back read "I miss him already." in small letters.

Rin took a breath and began putting the photos back, ordering them neatly into the pages as he took another look through all of them. Before closing the book he deliberated with himself for a moment, making his decision as he went back through the photos quickly to pull out a select few of the ones of himself and the Omega, then setting the yearbook aside and going quickly to stash the stolen photos into his takeaway suitcase.

He returned and sat heavily onto the cushions, deliberating whether or not he should even go through the last one after the emotional journey he went through with the previous book. Until he remembered that Nagisa's third year was the one where he was pregnant. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened the pages, searching for the Omega's photo. He found Rei yet all he found of Nagisa in terms of typical yearbook photo was a simple name under the 'not photographed' section at the end. He turned the pages slowly, taking more time to scan each one for any sign of the blonde in the black and white pages.

The only photo found was on the swim club's page, the team now much larger than the previous years of only four members. There was a large group photo that had been taken of the team, all in their jammers and all with bright smiles. Nagisa stood in the front as he was shorter than most all the other members, jammers on and the team jacket covering his torso unzipped. If you weren't looking then you wouldn't have been able to tell, but Rin was looking and he could see the slight swell of the Omega's stomach, only accentuated with the way the jacket cast shadows on the distended skin. There were no loose photographs this time. Rin sighed and closed the book almost harshly wondering why he had been so keen on seeing the Omega in such a state when he knew it was only going to aggravate him.

He gathered the three books and set them back on the bookshelf right as front door began to open, a small voice filtering in as Kaede chattered on as he entered.

"We're home!" he heard a familiar voice call out and Rin almost rushed to the entryway to see the new visitor.

"Makoto!" he called out, reaching forward to clap the large Beta on the back in greeting.

"Rin! Nagisa told me you'd be here, how are you?" Makoto greeted, happily returning the gesture and placing his hand on Rin's shoulder.

The Alpha shrugged and gave a lopsided grin. "I'm doing pretty well. And you? I hear you've got a coaching job now!"

The Beta smiled and looked down to Kaede. "Yup! I teach little guys like this one here how to swim! I also help coach the high school swim club every now and then." he explained.

"Uncle! Uncle! You know Rin, too?" Kaede asked, seemingly amazed.

Makoto laughed and leaned over to pick up the child, "I sure do! Rin and I have been friends since we were little!" he explained, seeming to blow the blonde's mind.

"Whaaaat? You never told me!" Kaede exclaimed, almost seeming mad with the man holding him for keeping such important information from him.

The Beta shook his head with a chuckle. "Well your mommy knew him, so why wouldn't I know him too?" Makoto reasoned. "We were all friends in high school too. Your mommy, me, Rin, and even Haru!" 

Kaede's jaw dropped as he processed the information. It clicked in his mind as he understood what that actually meant for the first time. "So you were all friends together? And not just mommy's friend?" he clarified.

Rin held back a laugh, finding the childlike innocence of Kaede to be increasingly hilarious. Makoto held back his own chuckles. "Of course we were!" he assured.

They all migrated to the kitchen, Makoto setting Kaede down in his seat and moving to the refrigerator. "What would you like to eat?"

"Fish sticks!" Kaede immediately replied, bouncing a little in his seat.

Makoto turned to the little boy. "Rin is the guest so we're going to let him decide tonight, okay?" he smiled when Kaede pouted. "I'll make you some fish sticks another time." the little boy seemed pleased by this and he smiled again, settling back in his seat and kicking his legs. Makoto then turned to Rin, cocking his head to the side in question.

The Alpha shrugged, watching the boy as he got down from his seat to go and get himself some crayons and paper. "I'm up for anything." he answered simply.

The two older men made dinner with Kaede happily waiting on them as he drew. Dinner was uneventful but nice, Makoto and Rin keeping the conversation going easily between them.

"So you do this often?" Rin asked, feeling somewhat awkward. Makoto looked to him for clarification. Rin nodded towards Kaede. "Take care of him when Nagisa works?"

Makoto nodded in understanding but Kaede beat him to answering. "Uncle Makoto picks me up and makes me dinner when mommy can't. He also takes me to swim practice and teaches me to swim!" the boy said proudly. "I also get to have sleepovers with him when mommy works really late or gets really sick." he added.

Rin startled a little at the last part, but chalked it up to child's vocabulary not being large enough to express himself as well. Makoto seemed almost nervous from Kaede's answer but agreed with him. "I do. I live only a few streets away and that makes it easy for me to help Nagisa out. It helps that Kaede's such a good kid, though!" he praised, ruffling the blonde hair.

"If I'm not good, mommy gets mad at me and I'm not allowed to swim." Kaede explained, "So I try to be really really good! Because if I can't swim, I can't be an Olympic swimmer like you, Rin!" he stated matter of factly.

The Alpha nodded, "You're right! Being a swimmer is hard work, so you gotta keep practicing." he advised, secretly humbled that the child looks up to him so much.

Rin offered to do the dishes while Makoto left with Kaede to get the four-year-old ready for bed. After the dishes were washed and put away (with some searching for the right cabinets), the Alpha went out to find the other two. The Beta had just gotten the child out of the bath and had him wrapped up in a large towel, doing his best to dry off his hair while Kaede did his part to help by attempting to dress himself even though the towel was still wrapped around his body.

Rin watched by doorway, trying to analyze how Makoto handled taking care of the kid. The Alpha found himself more and more interested in helping out himself, he would be lying if he said he wasn't starting to feel rather fond of the little blonde boy. His instincts pulled him towards Kaede as well, which was still confusing to Rin seeing as he had only met the kid a day ago, something just made his heart feel lighter when he saw him smile.

Soon enough Makoto was done struggling the clothes onto Kaede's body and he was following the boy to his bedroom, again Rin followed. Kaede got himself into bed and made himself comfortable, then asked rather nicely if he could hear a story before he went to sleep.

"What would you like me to read you?" Makoto asked, taking a seat on the floor next to the bed.

Kaede shook his head and looked up at Rin. "I wanna hear a swimming story." he clarified.

The Alpha's eyes widened slightly. "From me?" Kaede nodded with a shy smile. Rin shook himself from his shock and sat down next to Makoto. "Okay... I'm not sure what to tell though..." he admitted slowly.

"Why not tell him about your last race with Haru?" Makoto offered, urging him on to talk to the boy.

Rin nodded and took a breath. "Well..." he began, going with the memory and embellishing the details to make it more interesting. He got more confident as he kept going, spurred on by the bright eyed attention he was given by Kaede. When the story ended the blonde thanked him politely and asked if he would tell him some more stories sometime, Rin happily replied with a yes.

Makoto checked once more if Kaede was settled before the two left the room, leaving the door open a crack just in case. Makoto went back to the kitchen to grab his things and Rin followed, leaning his shoulder against the door frame.

"Nagisa called earlier and said he'd be home around midnight. Kaede should stay asleep so there's nothing to worry about." Makoto informed.

Rin nodded. "Do you think..." he started, stopping to collect his thoughts. "Would you mind giving me some tips on handling him?" he asked slowly. "I mean," he began again after seeing Makoto's smug grin, "I'm going to be here for the rest of the month and... I don't want to be the awkward guest around him the whole time."

The Beta's grin melted into a genuine smile. "It's easier than you think, Rin. He'll let you know what he wants, and he's old enough to know his routine by now so he could tell you what needs to be done. He's a really great kid, too, so there's not much to worry about." he advised. "If he likes you, he likes you and that's all there is to it. You just get comfortable around kids." he explained. "Though I mean, I guess I can see where this is different for you. I've been around him since he was born so I'm more familiar with him."

Rin nodded again, deep in thought for a moment. "So you helped Nagisa with the pregnancy?" he asked, curious.

Makoto sighed and looked to the side. "Yeah, I guess so? I came around to see him every time I came down to visit with my parents. And I did come and stay with him and his family right after Kaede was born. Nagisa was..." he stopped himself, going over his words, "Nagisa got pretty sick right having him for a bit and needed a lot of support." he admitted quietly. "After that everything just fell into place with me helping out when I could. I did go finish university, but I also came back to visit a lot more."

The Alpha listened intently, still trying to wrap his head around how he felt that Nagisa had never mentioned anything like this during any of their conversations while he was in Australia. "So you kind of took on as Kaede's father figure?"

Makoto's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Oh no! Not at all. Nagisa was very firm in that he wanted to be independent in taking care of his child. Nagisa is Kaede's parent, I'm just the Uncle that helps out when needed." he explained. "Kaede is also very aware that his father is not around, and he also knows that I am not his father, nor am I trying to be his father."

"And helping them out doesn't ever... bother you?" Rin asked, instantly cringing at his own use of words. "That's not what I mean..." he huffed out, running a hand down his face.

Makoto chuckled, walking over to pat his shoulder. "I understand what you mean, and no, it doesn't." he answered good-naturedly. "I still have my own life outside of this. I've got a girlfriend that I've been dating for a year now and she isn't bothered by this either." he grinned proudly at Rin's raised eyebrow. "Nagisa is a good friend, I don't mind helping out." he finished simply before walking around him to head out.

Rin sighed. "Thanks, Makoto." The Beta smiled, slipping back into his shoes and heading for the door. 

"It's good to see you again, Rin. I'll see you again, soon, yeah?" he asked. The Alpha nodded, giving the other an awkward smile as he waved him off, watching the other leave.

Rin sighed to himself, going back to the hallway and taking a moment to peek into Kaede's room to check on him. After seeing that he was still safely tucked into bed he went back to the living room, laying out on the fold out couch and turning on the TV to a low volume for something to do.

Rin was nearly asleep, dozing in and out in a daze from the TV when he was startled awake by a gentle tap to his hand. He jumped in his seat, looking down and was surprised to see Kaede standing there, a small plush fish in his hands. "Are you alright, little man?" he asked, voice a little roughened with sleep.

Kaede nodded and pulled his fish in front of his face as if embarrassed. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Can I sleep here with you since mommy isn't home?" he asked quietly.

Rin felt his awkwardness start to rise, unsure of what to do in this situation. "Yeah... of course you can." he answered, hoping that he wouldn't regret such an answer.

Kaede smiled and climbed up. "Are you sure it's okay, Rin?" he asked again.

Rin felt himself relaxing, humbled by how concerned Kaede seemed to be with his comfort level. "Yes, I'm sure." he smiled.

The blonde then pulled the covers over his body and dared to curl closer to the Alpha. "Thank you." he said softly, cuddling close to Rin's warm body and using the other's stomach as a pillow before closing his eyes to fall back asleep.

Rin chuckled lightly, trying not to jostle the boy too much. He leaned back and glanced at the clock: 11:23. Nagisa would be back soon enough. Rin figured he might as well stay up to welcome the other home and turned his attention back to the show playing on silent on the TV. Without ever realizing, the red head began rubbing little circles into the child's back with one hand, arm curled around his much smaller body.

Nagisa arrived sometime after midnight, closing the door behind himself quietly with the thought that everyone in the house would be asleep. When he stepped forward into the living room he was surprised to see Rin awake and looking over to him. "Rin! What are you doin-" he stopped himself when Rin put a finger in front of his lips to shush him, then pointed to the small body curled up next to his own. Nagisa gasped and walked forward. "Did he fall asleep with you?" he asked in a whisper, running his fingers through the blonde hair.

"He woke up and came in here and asked if he could sleep in here." Rin shrugged. Nagisa looked back up to his face with an expression of pure amazement on his face. "What?"

Nagisa shook his head. "No... it's nothing." he waved off. "I'll carry him back to bed now." he offered, slipping his hands under Kaede to pick him up, successfully stirring the boy.

"Mama...?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey sweetie..." Nagisa greeted. "We're gonna take you back to bed now, okay?"

Kaede shook his head. "Do I have to? I like Rin." he stated. The two looked up to the Alpha and he felt himself wanting to shiver under the wide-eyed gazes on him. He shrugged at the question, trying to convey that he didn't mind. 

"But you have your own bed, let's not disturb Rin, okay?" Nagisa reasoned, pulling the child into his arms.

"Why don't we all sleep here tonight? You too, mommy! It'll be like camping!" Kaede suggested.

Rin chuckled. "I really don't mind, you know." he offered.

Nagisa looked back and forth between them. "Okay then." he set his son down once more. "You can sleep here as long as Rin doesn't mind."

"You too! You too!" Kaede urged, pulling at Nagisa's sleeve.

The Omega smiled and kissed Kaede's forehead. "I haven't even gotten out of my work clothes yet!" he giggled. "Go on to sleep, okay?" he stood from the bed before Kaede could question him any further, heading back into the apartment towards his room.

Kaede waited for a minute before looking up at Rin. "I'm gonna go get him!" he declared, moving to leave the warmth of the covers.

Rin caught his arm. "I not sure if your mom wants to sleep here, though." he said softly.

Kaede pouted. "Is it okay if mommy sleeps here, too?" he asked. "I wanna be with both of you..." he mentioned.

The Alpha bit the inside of his cheek. "Of course he can. But if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to, okay?" he finally answered, unsure of how to handle the subject.

Kaede smiled brightly and jumped off of the couch and ran back to his mom's room, knocking on the door before pushing it open. He found Nagisa sitting on the edge of his bed reading the back of a small bottle, he looked up when Kaede walked in. 

"What? Did you decide to not stay with Rin tonight?" Nagisa asked, setting the bottle aside and walking over to pick up his son.

Kaede shook his head. "No, I want you to sleep with us too." he expressed. "Please, mommy?" 

The Omega sighed. "I don't know if Rin would want that."

Kaede nodded. "He doesn't mind!! He told me so!" he assured quickly. Nagisa sighed and gave him a resigned look before taking him back to the living area. "Yay!"

Nagisa approached and set Kaede down on the bed next to Rin, he looked to the Alpha briefly. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I don't want you to be uncomfortable." 

Rin waved him off. "It's fine, really." he assured, trying to slow down the excitement he suddenly felt at getting the chance to be so close to the Omega again. 

Nagisa nodded, still with an expression of worry on his face as he pulled the covers above himself and Kaede as well, shuffling closer to the Alpha to make room for them all on the relatively small space. 

Kaede made himself comfortable, half resting on top of Nagisa and the other half resting in the space between the older males. He smiled up at his mom and cuddled closer before closing his eyes once more.

Rin watched the two, still in awe over their relationship and ever amazed at Nagisa's state of parenthood. The blonde sighed softly and then looked over at the Alpha. "What?" he asked, shrinking under the intense gaze.

"Nothing." Rin responded, reaching to turn the TV off with the remote before settling down himself, instinctively turning to his side and wrapping an arm around the child and Omega. 

Nagisa gasped softly, turning his head towards Rin's. His heart was beating wildly, instincts on high and thriving off being so close to the Alpha and his child as once. His family. The Omega wanted to whine in appreciation but held himself in check, resting his head back instead.

"You okay?" Rin asked softly, ready to take his arm back and adjust himself, but daring hope enough that perhaps he would be allowed to stay like this, comfortable with the way the position stoked his protective instincts.

Nagisa didn't trust himself enough to speak so he nodded in the dark room, hoping that the red head would be able to see enough to get his answer.

Nothing else was said between the two, just the sound of even breathing from them all to be heard in the dark room. Rin fell asleep easily after that, pulling the two in his arms even closer in his sleep to nuzzle at Nagisa's soft hair and breathing in his scent. 

On the other hand Nagisa still struggled, lying awake for a while longer, cuddling his son to his chest and running fingers through his hair as he lay there. He was tired, exhausted even! Yet his mind would not shut down to allow him to sleep easily. What would this mean for himself and Rin? How would this affect Kaede in the morning? Would it hurt to allow himself these moments of peace with the two? His instincts were telling him to relax and be happy in his Alpha's arms, but his mind warred with him on the meaning of this one event. Yet even as he thought this he found himself falling asleep, a warm darkness enveloping him and pulling him under without notice.

 

**

 

Kade awoke first the next morning, squished between two much larger bodies. Nagisa had turned to his side in his sleep and the two adults were facing one another. The Omega had his arms around Kaede and Rin had an arm slung over them both. Both of them were asleep. Kaede gasped, staring up at his mother, excitement threatening to take over but he forced it down, he didn't want any chance of disturbing his sleeping mother.

The small blonde wiggled his way down and out of their grasp slowly and without moving either of the sleeping people. He slid himself off of the bed and tiptoed his way to the kitchen to set himself up drawing. He didn't want to do anything that threatened their sleeping state. 

When Rin woke sometime later he opened his eyes to see Nagisa's sleeping face, hair a wild mess around him and it reminded him of years before, waking up with the Omega in his arms. He reveled in the moment, drinking in every detail and allowing himself a moment to run is fingers through that bed head like he used to do when it occurred to him that Kaede was missing. Reluctantly he pulled himself away from the sleeping Omega and sat up, looking around for any clues about the child's whereabouts and seeing him sitting in the kitchen.

The Alpha stood and stretched before making his way over to the kitchen and looking over Kaede's shoulder as he worked. "You're up early, little man." he remarked, Kaede shushed him and he widened his eyes in surprise.

"We have to be quiet!" Kaede ordered. "Mommy is asleep!" he seemed rather excited by the latter statement.

Rin seemed confused. "He is. We'll let him sleep a while longer and then get him up for breakfast, yeah?" he offered.

Kaede shook his head violently. "No!" he disagreed like Rin had just asked him the most offensive question. "Mommy doesn't ever sleep! But he's sleeping now!" he reiterated. "We need to let him sleep."

Rin wanted to question him but refrained from doing so, worried that he wouldn't be able to understand the child and further embarrassing himself. "So... what are you drawing?" he asked.

"It's us!" he answered, voice still in a whisper. "It's you, me, and mommy all out camping. It felt like we were camping last night and I wanted to draw it!" he explained.

Rin looked over and watched him as he worked, amused by the level of imagination he had as he went from one drawing to the next. He found himself to be rather flattered that he seemed to be making an appearance in many of the drawings.

Some time later Nagisa stirred, jumping up in the bed and seeming to be startled at first, breathing heavily and hands shaking slightly as he looked to his surroundings to find where we was. He saw Rin and Kaede talking quietly together in the kitchen and he took a breath to calm himself before going to join them.

"Morning!" he offered, still shaken from the panic he had woken up in.

Rin looked over and nodded his own greeting but Kaede stilled in his drawing and looked down sadly at it.

"Kaede?" Nagisa asked, going over to his son's side. "Is something wrong?"

The boy shook his head and gave a smile to his mom. "No, mommy." he answered simply, leaning forward to give him a hug good morning.

Rin chuckled and shook his head, wondering what went through kid's minds that made them act so odd at times. He chalked it up to their neverending imagination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it got rushed at the end but I rewrote it and rewrote it and I wasn't happy with anything I did but this came out the best and I'm sorry


	7. Chapter 7

"What about the time I went with you and your friends from Samezuka to get ice cream and Ai-chan tripped and it fell into that woman's lap?" Nagisa laughed, nearly unable to get the words out as he brought a hand up to cover his laughter. Kaede was curled up in his lap, laughing along to the stories even though he could hardly keep up with anything being said.

Rin's head fell back from laughter. "Still not as good as when we went to see that scary movie with you Iwatobi guys. Remember how Rei jumped and let his drink spill all over and it scared Makoto so bad the popcorn was dumped onto that couple in front of us all?" Rin replied, curling at the waist to hold his side from laughing so hard.

Nagisa's giggles came back in large waves at the memory. "And I thought I was the clumsy one!" he smiled, leaning back against the couch and holding Kaede close, slowly letting the laughter subside so he could breathe once more. He felt warm and nostalgic, a smile painted on his face as he looked over at the Alpha beside him. "Remember when you suggested we try to go skinny dipping and then that old couple walked by?" 

Rin covered his quickly warming face to hide his embarrassment. "Don't remind me." he groaned. "They looked at us and so obviously knew what we were up to." he sighed out, still unable to take the grin off his face at the memories.

"What's 'skinny dippin'?" Kaede spoke up.

The Alpha fell into another fit of chuckles and Nagisa's face turned bright red, utterly mortified at his own indiscretion in his son's presence. "It's... it's when you swim in a private place, away from other people and without supervision." he explained, not wanting to lie but also not wanting to tell his young child what it really was. "It's something that adults do."

"Sounds fun!" Kaede giggled, smiling up at his mother.

Nagisa's ruffled his son's blonde hair with a smile and then turned to Rin and sighed contentedly. "So how is Sousuke doing?" he asked.

"I think he's doing pretty well actually. He's almost done with his internship at a physical therapist's office in Tokyo." Rin nodded in answer.

"Oh wow! That's so wonderful!" The Omega exclaimed, "I'm happy for him!"

Kaede watched as the two adults talked, completely in awe of Rin as he clung to Nagisa, head resting against his mother's chest. He listened carefully to the heartbeat, it was steady and familiar, yet at moments it would speed up and Kaede would look back up to the two above him to notice the smiles lighting his mother's face and the complementing shy grins from Rin. He was confused about what was happening in those moments, seeing as he stopped paying attention to the conversation, but he knew it was good and he briefly wondered to himself if these moments could last forever in his own childish naivete.

 

***

 

It was near the end of the first week that Rin had been staying with Nagisa when Kaede interrupted him from getting ready for bed. Rin had just been about to crawl under the freshly made sheets that covered the couch bed when Kaede had approached and reached out to grab his pant leg before he could sit down.

"What's up, little man? Wanna sleep in here again?" Rin asked, considerably more comfortable around the child after being around him all week.

Kaede shook his head and seemed to contemplate something for a moment before making his decision and looking back up to the Alpha. "You shouldn't be sleeping in here." he stated matter-of-factly.

Rin seemed confused. "Then where should I sleep?" he asked, beginning to feel nervous once more about his own inability to understand kids very well.

"You help momma sleep... you should be sleeping with him." Kaede explained, reaching up to grab at Rin's hand, ready to guide him back to the bedroom.

The Alpha faltered, slipping back out of his element and floundering for what to say to the kid as he let the smaller boy lead him back to the hallway. "Hey, hey wait." he finally spoke. Kaede stopped to look up at him. "Your momma has his own bedroom and I don't live here... I'm fine on the couch." he explained, for lack of better understanding.

Kaede pouted, frustrated that Rin didn't seem to understand. "No. Please go sleep with mommy!" he pleaded. "He sleeps better then." he tried to explain.

Rin opened his mouth to speak again but was left speechless as the child lead him the rest of the way to the end of the hall. Kaede only let go of his hand when they reached Nagisa's cracked open door and he pushed lightly at Rin's legs. "Go." he mouthed silently. He then turned himself around and went to his own bedroom door, looking back at Rin expectantly.

The red head was nervous, watching the child in confusion before looking back at the door. He nearly turned to walk back to the living room until he saw Kaede glaring at him from his doorway. That made Rin swallow around a lump in his throat and turn back to the door, pushing it open slightly to step inside.

Nagisa looked up from the book in his hands when Rin walked in, closing it and setting it aside. "Hey. Do you need something?" he asked softly.

Rin shrugged, taking a glance back into the hallway to see Kaede's door mostly closed, but a little eye was peeking through the crack still, watching him. "I... don't know?" he finally answered.

Nagisa cocked his head to the side. "Is everything okay? Is Kaede okay?" he asked, ready to jump out of bed to check on his son.

"Yeah, yeah! Just... he came and told me to come in here with you..." he explained awkwardly.

Nagisa giggled. "What? Why?"

Rin shrugged again. "I don't know but he actually glared at me when he told me to come in here... Children are a little scary when they want something."

Nagisa giggled again. "That is odd. Maybe I should ask him?" he offered, swinging his legs out of the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed. 

The Alpha sighed. "He just said that you sleep better with me. And I don't really know what that means." he explained, looking to Nagisa for an answer.

The Omega stilled, nodding his head slowly as he looked to the ground in thought. "I don't get that either. He mentioned something like that to me just yesterday, too, and I don't get it. As much as I claim to understand my son I still can't say I understand what's going through a child's mind." he admitted.

Rin nodded in understanding, shifting from foot to foot lightly. "Should I... leave?" he asked, completely at a loss in such a situation.

Nagisa breathed out a laugh and looked up at him. "If you'd like to stay, you may. Kaede wants you in here anyway so I doubt he'd think it's weird if you slept in here with me." he offered.

The Alpha shrugged and walked towards the opposite side of the bed, Nagisa already adjusting himself back under the covers. He slowly got himself under the sheets as well, settling himself down and turning to his side to see Nagisa's wide eyes watching him.

The blonde gave a shy smile. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" he whispered.

Rin felt all the air in his lungs leave him in that moment as he stared. "Yeah." was his simple answer. He dared to scoot closer on the bed. Nagisa bit his lip and looked towards the door for a moment, as if deliberating how the situation would play out.

"I've missed you a lot, Rin... and it's so good to see you again." Nagisa closed his eyes as he breathed out the end.

The silence weighed over them heavily as they lay by each other, simply taking in the others presence. 

"I've missed you, too." The Alpha finally replied, daring to lean forward to press a kiss to the Omega's cheek. Nagisa's eyes shot open as he stared up at the Alpha. Rin's confidence wavered but he built himself back up, bringing one hand forward to run through the blonde hair as he pressed their foreheads together. Nagisa's gaze never left his eyes.

The Omega held his breath, waiting to see what Rin would do as he allowed himself the moment to take in the closeness. When he felt the Alpha beginning to shift closer, lips only a breath away he put his hand out to his chest, holding him back. His instincts ached to kiss the Alpha, to cling and whine and let himself be taken care of be the other, but only one thought in his mind was enough to stop him. "Kaede..." he whispered to the other.

Rin breathed out slowly, mentally kicking himself for thinking that this was an opportunity to bring them closer once more. "Sorry..." he apologized, pulling himself back at that point.

Nagisa shook his head. "Don't be sorry." he assured. "I just... I have another to think about as well now."

They both went quiet after that, shifting on the bed to get comfortable and ending up with shoulders touching in an attempt to comfort the other from the rush of emotions they had experienced in that one moment.

It took a while for either of them to fall asleep, both lost in their own thoughts. Nagisa stared up at the ceiling and listened as Rin's breathing began to even out, sleep catching him eventually. The Omega sighed softly and felt almost ready to cry. What had almost happened? How should he act around Rin in the morning? They couldn't be together with how many secrets still lurked just beneath the surface. Nagisa began to seriously consider just getting it all out, but the thought of Rin leaving him completely left his heart cold and throat dry and it stopped him in his tracks. He cursed himself for being such a coward.

Rin shifting in his sleep to sling an arm around Nagisa's waist pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked over to the Alpha, peacefully asleep at that point and breathing deeply. Nagisa envied him in that moment. He finally allowed himself to close his eyes, not expecting to sleep well even as consciousness left him.

 

***

 

"Kaede is going to be so happy that you're coming!" Nagisa exclaimed, hands clapping in front of him and a spring in his step as he walked side-by-side with Rin.

"I promised I would come see him swim." he chuckled. "And I kinda wanted to see how Iwatobi has been holdin' up."

Nagisa giggled, leading them into the building. He waved to the receptionist as they walked past towards the pool. "Not much has changed, honestly. Just new people."

"New people is a pretty big change." Rin remarked, looking at some of the newer photos that now hung on the walls as they walked through the halls.

A group of mothers and fathers alike were all gathered near the wall already, waiting for their kids to finish up with practice, when they arrived. Nagisa stepped to the side to allow Rin the room to join him near the adjacent wall. The Alpha's attention was instantly drawn to the pool where Makoto stood in the water, instructing a group of children around Kaede's age as they floated on the water using foam boards.

Kaede was wholly focused on the Beta as he spoke, giving them some last tips before saying that they were released. He then moved with the group to the edge of the pool with the ladder, watching them and making sure they didn't slip as they all filtered out of the pool. Kaede noticed Nagisa and Rin as soon as he swam closer and waved a hand in the air excitedly.

Nagisa smiled and waved back, walking towards the edge of the pool with Rin following close behind. "How was practice?" he asked, kneeling down to be closer to his son.

"It was great! Uncle Makoto taught me how to float on my back! Look!" Kaede boasted, letting go of the foam board and pushing himself onto his back in the water and holding himself there.

"Wow! I'm so proud of you!" Nagisa clapped his hands, delighted by his son's excitement.

Kaede let his body fall then, treading water easily to keep himself afloat. "Rin! I can swim laps, too! Watch!" 

Rin chuckled and nodded, "Okay, little man, I'm watching." he assured.

Kaede pushed himself off from the wall somewhat sloppily and began doing a basic learning stroke towards the opposite end of the pool. Nagisa touched Rin's shoulder. "I need to talk to Makoto for a moment, I'll be right back." he let him know before standing up and walking towards where the tall Beta was currently still talking with a few of the lingering housewives. He waited patiently for the others to go before approaching him. 

"Nagisa! I thought you had work today?" Makoto questioned, tilting his head to the side as he slid his towel back around his neck.

The Omega shrugged. "I managed to get a later shift for tonight, instead. Rin had said he was free today so I brought him with me since Kaede was wanting him to see him swim." he explained. 

Makoto looked over to see Rin crouched over the side of the pool talking to the little blonde boy. Kaede seemed completely interested in what Rin had to say and shortly after, he was nodding his head and pushing off the side of the pool again, this time with Rin's advice in mind. "He seems to be doing better with Kaede than he was last week." he mentioned with a sly smile.

Nagisa giggled and nodded. "Definitely. Kaede is just so interested in him and I think that makes it easier for Rin to interact with him." he looked over and watched the two with a smile.

"So how did Rin end up staying with you? His mother still lives here, doesn't she? Why didn't he stay with family?" the Beta asked.

The Omega felt his cheeks turn pink. "Well he says that I live closer to the places he'd like to go while in town and... he wanted to see more of me while he's here." he smiled shyly, turning his gaze to the ground as he spoke.

"Oh really? Are..." Makoto stopped himself before his curiosity got the better of him, "Are you two together?" he asked softly.

Nagisa looked up at him then. "It's... complicated. We were before he left to go to Australia. I kind of forgot that we never told anyone." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He sighed wistfully. "There was definitely something between us before he left. And that was... Gods, that was about five years ago... I'm not really sure what our relationship is now."

Makoto nodded. "I'm sorry for asking like that." he apologized, looking back over the Alpha and the child as Rin pulled Kaede out of the water and draped a large towel over him. Makoto gasped and looked over to the Omega, who had turned to watch them with a smile. "Nagisa..." he started, waiting for the blonde to look over at him. "Is Rin Kaede's father?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Nagisa's smile dropped, heart rate picking up wildly, fingertips shaking as he was asked the question he still couldn't answer to. He could evade every question, had come up with ways to get around answering, but this was the one question that he had not been prepared to face, and it showed. His lips fell open as if to answer but he was left speechless as he looked up at Makoto. Tears started to well in his eyes unbidden and he gasped, jerking his head away to wipe furiously at his eyes.

That was all the answer needed for the Beta as he brought an arm around the Omega's shoulders and steered him into the pool office, guiding him to a chair to settle himself on. The Omega forced himself to pull together, managing to stop the tears but not entirely force down the lump in his throat. Makoto took a seat in front of him. "Does he know?" Nagisa shook his head, unable to come up with any kind of lie at this point. "Does anyone else know?" Again, Nagisa shook his head. "Nagisa... why did you keep it secret?"

The Omega took a shuddering breath. "I couldn't.... tell anyone." he started, "I couldn't let Rin know.... I.... the burden of having a baby was on me, he was in Australia and... if I let anyone know then there was a chance, however small, that Rin would find out and... I just couldn't let that happen." he explained slowly, voice soft as if afraid that someone would hear past the walls and door.

Makoto sighed and shook his head. "Why haven't you told him now?" he asked.

Nagisa shook his head violently. "Kaede is four years old already! I've kept this secret from him for nearly five years! If he finds out now... he might hate me." he explained. "Makoto, I.... I still love him." the last words came out near silent and he had to stop to gather himself once more. "If he finds out and then hates me for not telling him I...." he stopped again to swallow past the lump in his throat and to blink away the welling tears, "I don't know how I would cope." he finished.

The Beta nodded slowly, taking in his words. "But if you wait any longer and he finds out, the consequences would be worse." he reasoned. "If you do it now then it's in person, it'd be easier."

The blonde took a moment to think over the words, to reason them out in his head. "No... no. He can't know, Makoto. I can't let him know. I just can't. Please don't tell him." he breathed out. "If he ever does find out... it'll definitely be through me. I will be the one to tell him if that ever happens." he said, resolute in his mindset.

Makoto sighed. "I understand." he nodded, patting Nagisa's shoulder before standing. "They're probably waiting for you."

The Omega nodded, standing on shaky legs and taking a few steps forward to ground himself once more. "How... how did you figure it out? Was it obvious? Did I say something?"

Makoto breathed out and smiled. "Well I honestly didn't believe the 'I had several partners in one heat' story." he chuckled when Nagisa's face burned bright red. "And if you two had been together before he left... I mean the timing is there. And seeing the two together... Kaede looks a whole lot like Rin now that I think about it. I can see it now." he explained.

Nagisa sighed. "Okay then..." he took another moment to breathe and shake himself off from the unease that still settled in his fingertips before leading the two out of the office to search for the others. 

Rin stood outside the locker room door with Kaede held on his hip, the child speaking excitedly to the Alpha as Rin nodded along with a smile. Kaede was dressed again and his little swim bag lay at Rin's feet. Nagisa almost wanted to melt at the endearing sight.

"Mommy! Rin helped me swim faster!" Kaede exclaimed, bouncing in the Alpha's arms when he saw his mother approaching them.

"Really? Well, you're gonna have to show me next time!" Nagisa smiled, taking Kaede into his arms as Rin handed him over. All at once, the Omega felt his nerves wash away at finally hiving his son in his arms again.

"All I did was show him how to cup his hands and tell him how to push off from the wall." Rin shrugged. 

"Isn't it my job to teach him to swim?" Makoto teased, knocking shoulders with the shorter Alpha. 

The red head chuckled and grinned up at the other. "Well obviously you could be doing better." he joked back.

The Beta shrugged. "He's way above where his class is now, but he's too small to move him to an older class. Kinda hard to balance how to teach them when the rest of the class is still learning stuff that little Kaede here is already doing and doing well."

"Wow, little man! That's impressive!" the Alpha praised, ruffling the still damp blonde hair.

Kaede giggled and puffed his chest out. "I'm gonna be an Olympic swimmer! I gotta work hard!" he announced.

Nagisa giggled and held the child closer to plant a noisy kiss to his temple. "Mommy's little swimmer!"

Kaede just laughed and leaned in to press an equally noisy kiss to his mother's cheek. The Omega cooed and hugged his son closer, motherly instincts satisfied with the attention from his son.

The three stood around chatting for a while until Kaede spoke up about being hungry, from there they parted from the Beta, though not before he could give Nagisa a reassuring pat on the back, and then left back to the Omega's apartment for a late lunch. With some work, Nagisa was able to put the earlier encounter with the Beta to the back of his mind, successfully allwoing himself to enjoy the time with his son and his Alpha.

 

***

 

"Rin! Makoto just called and said that he won't be able to get Kaede later and my mom currently out visiting my sister and won't be back until Thursday. Is there any way that you could get him from daycare and get him dinner and whatnot?" Nagisa asked, scent betraying just how stressed he was in this moment. "I mean, I can call and see if I can move my shift and then I can do it if that's easier. Oh, what am I saying, I'll go do that now." he paced, brows knit close as he moved to leave the room he had just entered.

"Wait!" Rin called out, standing quickly from the table to grab the Omega's arm. "I can do it." he answered.

Nagisa's head whipped over to look at the red head in surprise. "You don't have to! Really! I'll call my work and I can do it. I don't want you to work while you're here and-"

The Alpha cut him off. "I don't mind. Stop worrying, I can go get him, that's no big deal. Dinner, also no big deal, I'll just order some pizza if nothing else. The rest shouldn't be too hard, right?" 

Nagisa was silent for a beat before he turned and wrapped his arms around the taller male. "Oh, thank you, Rin!" he exclaimed, hugging the other tightly and burying his face in his shoulder. "Are you sure?" he asked again.

Rin was still caught completely off guard from Nagisa hugging him when he answered. "Yeah... sure." He dared to bring his arms up to return the hug. 

Nagisa breathed in the Alpha's scent, letting it calm him down before he stepped away. "You just need to call or text me if you need anything!" he offered. "Let Kaede know that he won't get fish sticks for two weeks if I find out he wasn't good for you while I'm gone!" he informed, expression stern. Rin started laughing before he could catch himself and Nagisa found himself giggling as well, "That's a serious punishment for that boy! He'll listen in a heartbeat if you threaten him with no fishsticks or no swimming!" he giggled.

"Well if those are his only real concerns, I don't think I'll have a problem." Rin assured. "You just need to worry about making it back home safely after work." he leaned forward to nuzzle the Omega's cheek lightly, not able to help himself in that moment.

Nagisa thought about chastising the Alpha for the action, but found himself too comforted by his words and the act to mention anything about it. "Thank you, again, Rin. I'm just a call away if you need me." he gave the red head one more brief hug before leaving the room to finish getting ready for work.

Rin left for practice shortly after Nagisa had left for work, the two parting with yet another intimate hug to share scents. Ever since the night Kaede had made Rin go to Nagisa, the pair had been sleeping together in the Omega's room, often falling asleep apart and waking wrapped up in each other, but these encounters were different. They were more aware and the exchanges were more to satisfy their own deep seated need to be close to the other than anything else. Neither brought it to attention or acknowledged it past shy smiles and flushed cheeks.

Kaede had been surprised to see Rin come in to pick him up later that afternoon, but he was ecstatic nonetheless. Kaede had been eager to climb up into the Alpha's arms and show off that he 'was with a celebrity'. Rin had chuckled and flushed a little at the attention, doing his best to steer the two away and back towards the apartment.

He had been worried that he would have trouble communicating with the blonde, still unsure of how to interact with the little boy, but Kaede kept up his own conversation the entire walk home. He told Rin all about his day and his friends and hardly stopped to even let the other speak. The Alpha was forever grateful that Kaede was a talkative child. He happily supplied any answer to every question Rin asked him. 

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Fish sticks!"

"...is pizza okay?"

"Yeah!"

"What kind would you like?"

"I like the sausage and pineapple with extra cheese!"

"Did your mom make you try that?"

"Yep!

Rin laughed to himself and shook his head at the similarities from mother to son as he dialed the number to order their dinner. Kaede continued talking as he sat at the table and drew while they waited for it to arrive. Rin wondered if maybe Kaede could tell that he didn't know what to say so he kept it going himself to make him feel better. 

"Look! I drew you again!" the blonde boasted, holding up the picture he had recently finished.

"Oh? And is that you and your mom there too?" the red head asked as he leaned over to look.

"Yeah! That's me on the first place pedal with a gold medal," he explained, "and that's you in second place with a silver one!" he giggled. "And that's mommy clapping for both of us!" he pointed out each character as he went on.

"What? Why am I in second place?" Rin laughed.

"Because I'm gonna get so fast at swimming that I'll be faster than you and faster than anyone!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna get so good at it and I'm gonna make mommy proud!"

Rin ruffled his hair. "Good luck, little man." he grinned. "Just try and beat me."

"I will!" Kaede challenged, unafraid to look Rin straight in the eyes, determination filling every ounce of his little body.

There was a knock at the door then and Rin got up to gather their dinner. The two ate in relative silence, TV on in the background with a family show playing, both too engrossed in the task of eating to say too much themselves. Afterwards, Rin cleaned up while Kaede excused himself to go play with his toys in the living room. The Alpha joined him shortly after to haul him into his arms and shuffle towards the bathroom to bathe the child.

Kaede managed to talk Rin into letting him have a bubble bath and made a show of blowing most of them at the older man, making a game of trying to get them to stick to his cheeks. The Alpha let it happen, taking the chance to splash him back every now and then. The blonde was a ball of giggles and smiles for him the whole time, playing lively and keeping Rin involved. The Alpha couldn't place it at the time, but his instincts were pleased with the sense of protectiveness that came over him as he watched over the kid.

The rest of the evening was much more subdued, Kaede happy to entertain himself while Rin allowed himself to sit back and relax while he alternated from watching TV and watching the kid play. He nudged the blonde with his foot when he glanced at the clock and noticed the time. "Let's get you ready for bed, little man."

Kaede looked up at him with an expression that could have easily become a pout, but he nodded instead, knowing better than to oppose Rin about his bedtime. He followed the Alpha dutifully to his room and made himself comfortable in his bed, and when Rin leaned down to give him a hug goodnight he held on tight, not letting go.

"Little man?" the Alpha questioned, rubbing the small boy's back. "You okay?"

The boy let go and looked up at him then, expression serious and eyes full of emotion then. "Thank you for making mommy happy." he said simply.

Rin cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? You make your momma happy, too, you know."

Kaede closed his eyes as if exasperated and shook his head. "No. I don't." he disagreed. Rin started a little at such a response. "I don't make mommy happy like you do." he went on, "Mommy hasn't smiled in a really long time, and he hasn't slept in a really long time, and he hasn't been happy in a really really long time."

Worry began to creep up in Rin as he settled himself on the edge of Kaede's bed. "Your momma smiles all the time, though, little man! And he sleeps just fine."

Kaede shook his head again, almost violently this time as he sat up, determined to make Rin understand. "No! He didn't before! You make him smile and help him sleep! I can't do that! The medicine doesn't do that! You do!"

"What medicine?" Rin's head was absolutely swimming, internally frustrated with himself that he couldn't comprehend.

"Mommy takes lots and lots of medicines. I'm not supposed to know about it but I heard Uncle Makoto get mad at mommy for not taking them." he explained. "I think one is supposed to make him happy, but it doesn't work. And one is supposed to help him sleep, but it doesn't work. I know so cause sometimes I get up at night, or stay up really late and I go check on mommy. I've never seen him sleeping and he's always super tired. I've tried going in to sleep with him but that doesn't help him. But you do!! The first time I ever saw mommy sleep was with you, Rin!" Kaede sniffled then, tears gathering in his eyes.

Rin's mouth dropped open, unable to say anything as he listened to the boy continue.

"And mommy smiles a lot but he doesn't really smile!" he whined in his throat, trying his hardest to keep from crying, Rin reached out and pulled him into his lap. "B-but! I saw him smile and laugh with you! For real! He really smiled! You can make mommy smile! No one can do that! But you can!" he sniffled again and wiped angrily at his eyes. "The closest I seen to him smiling before was when you came on TV! He would get really excited if you were racing! That's why I wanna be a Olympic swimmer! Maybe I can make mommy happy if I swim like you!" the fat tears came unbidden down his plump cheeks then, the small child unable to contain them. "Th-thank yo-you so much, R-Rin!" he snuffled loudly against the Alpha's shirt, "Fo-r mak-making mommy hap-happy!"

Rin was stunned speechless, unknowingly holding the boy close and curling his body around him as he cried. He struggled to grasp what he was just told. This kid was more perceptive than he gave him credit for, and it definitely explained his odd behavior in those moments. He began crooning to the boy in an attempt to help soothe him, running his fingers through his hair and holding him tight. 

"It's okay, little man. I'm here. For you and your momma. So it's okay." he coaxed in a whisper as the blonde's sobs ebbed away and he began to sag in Rin's grasp.

Kaede's firm grasp on him let up. "You'll keep making him ha-happy, right?" he asked in a soft voice.

Rin nodded dumbly, still feeling as if the whole conversation was surreal. "I will, but you should also know that you make your mom happy." the boy scrunched his face in frustration, tears gathering in his eyes and looking as if he was going to rebut him again but Rin shushed him. "You do. You're his little man! So stop saying that you don't make him happy, cause you do."

Kaede looked at him a long moment before nodding slowly. He reached forward again to hug him tightly in his little arms. "Thank you, Rin." he said again.

"You're welcome, little man. Now get some sleep, okay? No more worrying." he coaxed, helping the boy back into bed and getting him settled. For his sake as much as Kaede's, he stuck around to croon to the boy as he slowly fell asleep, using the minutes himself to process the information he was given.

When he left the room he went to kitchen, taking stock of all the drawings that Kaede had done and examining them. Maybe it was just coincidence but Rin couldn't help but notice that he had a tendency to draw Nagisa with larger smiles in all the drawings that Rin was in as well. The drawings without Rin showed the Omega smiling, but the arch was much smaller and less expressive in the crude drawings. The Alpha sighed and hung his head, at a complete loss for what to do in such a situation. What would he say to Nagisa when he got back? Should he tell him about Kaede's outburst? Should he confront him about the topics? 

All thoughts drifted from his mind when he heard the front door opening and Nagisa's steps coming into the apartment. He popped his head in the doorway and smiled when he saw Rin, stepping inside and taking a seat at the table. "Seems like everything went okay?" he asked, gentle smile still plastered on his face.

Rin examined the Omega's face and wanted to punch himself for not noticing it before. The bags under Nagisa's eyes, the light crease embedded between his brow from worry, the way his eyes didn't quite shine like they used to. Things had certainly changed, and Rin hadn't even considered that Nagisa's once brightly shining demeanor was one of those things. 

"Yeah. He was great. You've raised him well." Rin replied, struggled not to let his voice break over the words. Nagisa sighed with relief and relaxed back in the chair. "Wanna go to bed? It's late." he offered.

Nagisa nodded, lips still quirked up as he stood, grunting softly with the effort of moving again after settling himself down. The two made their way to the bedroom, and Nagisa gathered himself some bed clothes and changed in his small bathroom before moving towards the bed and snuggling under the sheets.

"Could I borrow some toothpaste? I ran out this morning and need to go get some more." Rin asked, moving towards the bathroom and picking up his toothbrush from the cup on the side of the sink.

"Yeah, of course." Nagisa replied, he stifled a yawn as he lay back. "It should be in the medicine cabinet."

Rin nodded in understanding and reached to open the mirror cover. The cabinet inside had three shelves, on the bottom he found the toothpaste and proceeded to put some on the brush. When he set it back he allowed himself a glance at the other contents. The second shelf housed a small bottle of cologne and deodorant, and then top shelf... the top shelf held an array of prescription pill bottles. He closed the cabinet and brushed his teeth quickly.

When Rin returned to get into bed himself he didn't go to the side of the bed that he had claimed as his own, instead he crawled under the covers next to Nagisa and wrapped his arms around the Omega, covering his smaller body with his own. The blonde gasped and then giggled, pushing lightly at his chest. "You're crushing me! Rin! What are you doing?" he giggled, butting his head lightly on Rin's collarbone. "Kaede might come in and see!" he pointed out, still with a smile on his face.

The instincts inside of the Alpha still weren't settled, even with the dominance he was displaying. He was restless, instincts telling him to do a better job of protecting this dear Omega. He growled low in his chest and all at once Nagisa stopped moving and laughing, body relaxing into submission.

"Rin...?" he asked again lightly. "Is everything okay?"

The Alpha struggled with himself, fighting to understand all that he was feeling. "What... what are all those pill bottles for?" he asked.

Nagisa gasped sharply and began pushing at Rin again, harder this time. The Alpha growled again in warning. The Omega shivered and stopped once more. "I... I forgot those were there." he said softly.

"Answer me." Rin demanded, a growl rumbling through his chest. When he heard Nagisa whimpered he forced himself to calm down, pressing a few gentle kisses to his temple. "Please..? I... Kaede told me some things earlier and... I just want to know what's actually going on."

Nagisa's eyes widened and pushed Rin again, this time successful in rolling the Alpha off of him and onto the bed next to him. He sat up, breathing hard and staring at the red head lying down. "What did he say?" he asked, voice wavering.

Rin sat up as well, taking one of Nagisa's shaking hands in his own, unable to help himself from wanting contact with the other. "He thanked me for making you happy and said that you aren't, and that you haven't been, and that he hasn't been able to help you. He said that you didn't sleep before I came here and told me that the first he ever saw you sleep was with me." he paused. "He said that he isn't supposed to know that you take medication but he does know, and he also knows that it doesn't work." he gripped his hand tighter in his grasp. "Is all that true?"

Nagisa swallowed thickly, mouth hung open in surprise and tears welling. "How?" he uttered, whimpering and rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. "He shouldn't know any of that! He's my baby! He doesn't need to know any of that!" 

"So it's true?"

"No!" Nagisa answered vehemently, head turning to look Rin in the eye. It took all of one moment for him to break, gripping the Alpha's hand tightly and hanging his head. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rin asked then, sighing deeply. "Seems like you haven't told me a lot of things." he mentioned off-hand.

Nagisa's whole body lurched at that, sobs washing over him as he covered his mouth and kept his head hung. "I'm so sorry." he whispered through his tears.

Rin said nothing, instead gathering the Omega close and lying back, keeping Nagisa's head on his chest as he crooned again. He again noted the similarities in the way both mother and son clung to him as they cried. He was still amazed at how alike Kaede looked to Nagisa. "Just tell me now, okay?"

Nagisa struggled greatly to quit crying. He reached for Rin and held on tight, mumbling 'sorry' over and over and over. His mind was so muddled he couldn't actually focus on any one thing, only that he was grieving and for once, his Alpha was there to croon and protect him through it. He could feel the Alpha's warm hands wandering all over him, massaging his scalp, rubbing his back, soothingly running along his arms and shoulders and neck, even going so far as to rest over his scent glands in a comforting gesture of trust.

When he finally calmed himself he was tired, body sagging into the bed and Rin. His hand was kneading into the others broad chest for lack of anything better to do and to help him focus on something to keep him awake. He sniffled and Rin showed all the patience in the world as he waited for Nagisa to be ready to talk. "Depression is a side-effect of having a kid, you know." he finally said.

Rin's arms wrapped around him tightly, protectively, and he rolled to his side to provide his own body as a shield for the Omega, as if he could block out all the sadness he harbored. "You don't deserve that. That's not like you!"

Nagisa chuckled breathlessly. "It happens! And I mean... with everything that happened it was bound to catch up to me... and it did." he shrugged, enjoying how warm Rin kept him despite how cold he felt inside at admitting all this to him. "I guess insomnia caught me too, staying up late worrying about how to care for a baby became a... habit I guess? And then it got so bad that I just couldn't sleep. And now whenever I do sleep it's never for more than maybe an hour at a time, I just can't get my mind to stop!"

"But you've been sleeping... With me, I mean." Rin mentioned.

The Omega nodded. "I have. It's been wonderful. You help me stop thinking about so much at once, I guess. I don't think I've slept so much since Kaede was born!" he sniffled again. "I didn't want to tell you because... I mean a lot of reasons! I didn't want you to think differently of me, I didn't want you to think I was depending on you, I didn't... I didn't want you to worry and I... I didn't want a lot of things." he whimpered.

Rin sighed and held him close, rubbing his back and surrounding him with his scent. "I don't think differently of you, though. And I'm worrying more now than I would have if you had just let me know!"

"How do I bring that up, though? 'Oh, by the way Rin it's nice to see and I'm sad and sleepy!'" Nagisa offered sarcastically, giggling a little at the morbid joke.

Rin chuckled despite himself, running his fingers through the blonde hair. "Okay, I see your point." he gave in. "But there were a lot of pill bottles up there. What are they all for?"

Nagisa sighed, leaning into Rin's hands. "One is my depression medication, one is for insomnia, one is actually just special vitamins to keep my immune system up, one is some antibiotics from a long time ago when I got sick that are probably expired and I should throw away, and one is... one is birth control." his face flushed and Rin looked to him curiously. "I only take it because it suppresses heats. Having a kid is a full time job and I cannot care for Kaede if I'm in heat. And it's not fair to my parents or Makoto to ask them to take him for a week every month so I can have some alone time. It's not like I have a partner so there isn't a point to going through them. Taking birth control makes it so I don't have a heat." he explained, face burning in embarrassment.

"Oh. That makes sense..." he bit his lip. "Anything else I should know?" he asked, running the backs of his fingers over Nagisa's cheek.

The Omega looked up at him, lips parted. He debated with himself. Should he tell the truth? Should he keep it to himself. "No." he finally settled, resolute in his decision. "No, that's all." he whispered. Rin nodded, kissing his cheek where his fingers had lain. "Can we sleep now? I'm exhausted."

"Yeah." the Alpha agreed softly, not allowing the Omega to pull apart from him. "Let's sleep like this... I feel restless otherwise." he admitted quietly, holding Nagisa closer.

The blonde giggled again. "Such an Alpha." he rolled his eyes, bringing one arm around Rin's waist. 'Such a good Alpha.' he thought to himself, snuggling close and breathing in his scent to calm himself down. He wondered briefly about what he would do when Rin leaves again, he was already so used to his presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Rin seems OOC it's because meshing Alpha instincts towards children and his actual personality is really hard. It's a weird combination.


	8. Chapter 8

Rin woke first the next morning, right arm numb and tingly from holding the Omega's weight all night, and heart aching to reach out and claim the one in his arms. Nagisa eyes seemed a little red and swollen as he slept, the effects of crying so hard the night before no doubt. Rin pressed a light kiss to his forehead, unable to stop himself against the strong feelings of affection that rushed through him with the Omega right there. He wondered what he could to do help the dear man pressed against him and snoring lightly. His mind filled with memories of years before and he sighed.

Rin stayed like that for hours, his arm almost beginning to hurt from staying in the same position but he couldn't bring himself to jostle the blonde even the tiniest bit. In that span of time he had pressed many kisses down onto his partner, nuzzling his hair, and always being so careful not to wake him. By the time Rin was getting to a point where he would have to move his arm so it wouldn't hurt, Nagisa was starting to open his eyes.

"Good morning." the Alpha offered, gentle as he adjusted himself to move his arm from under the other. He pressed another kiss to Nagisa's cheek before he sat up and started massaging his aching appendage.

Nagisa blinked a few times, groaning lightly at how sensitive his eyes were still from last night. Rin left him and he returned with a cold rag, pressing it to the Omega's forehead and lightly over his sore eyes. Nagisa uttered a soft 'thank you' and curled close to Rin's body, resting his head in the others lap. The Alpha played with his hair and they rest like that for a while longer, enjoying the others company.

Eventually Nagisa sat up and tentatively removed the rag from his face, relaxed at how much better he felt already. He glanced over at Rin and they made eye contact, sitting together like that for a while until Nagisa gasped and looked at the clock. "Your practice! It's so late, I'm sorry! You should have woken me and gone!" he worried.

The Alpha shook his head. "Not going today." he replied simply, cupping Nagisa's cheek in one of his hands to bring his gaze back on himself.

"Why not?" the Omega asked, still guilty for holding him back. 

"Don't feel like it." Rin replied simply, running his thumb over the curve of Nagisa's cheek bone. "Come on, let's make some breakfast. I'm starving." 

The Omega blindly followed after him to the kitchen, taking a moment to peek into Kaede's room to see him still asleep, a stuffed jellyfish in his arms. Rin was already taking ingredients out of the refrigerator when he arrived a moment later, going to the counter and taking the items to start preparing the food. Both were relatively silent as they worked side by side. 

At one point Rin's part was done and he was left to lean against the kitchen table as the blonde worked over the food in the skillet over the stove. He traced some of the stray crayon marks on the table with a finger absentmindedly. His instincts told him to reach out, be closer with the Omega, to shower him with all the affection that he could, to protect him, to love him, to hold him tight and claim him... but he held back. Always holding back. He was so close to the object of his affections but there was always an obstacle in the way, he just couldn't reach him. 

Nagisa turned to serve up the food to a plate on the table, smiling shyly up at Rin. "You were hungry, right? I made extra for you." he admitted softly. 

Rin couldn't help but return the smile, reaching forward and grabbing the Omega by the waist, causing him to giggle and leaning forward to kiss his cheek, still too afraid to press their lips together. Nagisa smiled and nuzzled his shoulder, unfazed by the show of affection, before pulling away to finish getting breakfast ready.

The moment Nagisa had set down the last plate full of slices of toast, Kaede walked in, still holding his jellyfish. 

"Good morning, sweetie! Breakfast is ready." Nagisa greeted, leaning down to pick up his still sleepy son.

"Morning, little man." Rin greeted, coming forward to ruffle the blonde's bed head. 

"Morning." Kaede yawned, leaning his head on his mother's shoulder. "Hey, mommy?" he asked.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I want Rin to be my daddy." the child admitted matter-of-factly.

Movement ceased in the room, Rin and Nagisa glancing to one another in absolute shock. Nagisa began to panic as he looked away from the Alpha. "He, uh... he can't though, baby." he finally answered. 

Rin was at a loss, cheeks burning red and mind a mess with how to handle such a situation. He scrambled to help Nagisa talk to the boy but he came up with nothing to say.

"But why not?" Kaede asked, steadily becoming more awake as he brought his head up to look at his mother. "I don't have a daddy. Why can't Rin be my daddy?" he asked, beginning to pout.

"Because uh..." Nagisa took a deep breath to steady himself, panic beginning to take over but he forced himself to look at his son and answer, handle the situation, anything. "You do have a daddy, baby. And Rin has to leave again soon." he caught himself before his voice could break on the last words.

"But my daddy isn't here! I don't want another daddy. Does it matter that Rin has to leave?" he asked, put-out by not getting the answer he wants.

Nagisa sighed deeply. "Yes, baby, it does." Rin looked away then, feeling guilty. "Because he'll be far away and won't be able to see us for a long time. He's got to keep swimming and he can't do that here."

Kaede looked over at the Alpha then. "Why can't Rin come see us?" he asked.

Nagisa transferred his son from one hip to another. "Because, honey, he has a full schedule. If he wants to keep winning he has to keep training in a place that will help him win. Do you understand?" he asked his son. Kaede slowly nodded, still pouting. "I'm sorry, baby." he apologized, moving to set him in his seat at the table. "I made you some pancakes this morning! I know that they're your favorite breakfast, so eat up!"

Kaede was silent as he started to eat, setting his jellyfish in his lap and pouting through every bite. Rin tried to pat his back comfortingly but got no response from the boy. He looked to Nagisa for help but he wouldn't meet his gaze.

"So!" the Omega started, trying to fill the space with something other than the weighing silence. "Uncle Makoto said that if you want he can get you tomorrow and you two can go swim together!" again no response from the boy. He sighed and resigned himself to a breakfast of pouty child and awkward silence.

 

****

 

Rin made himself sparse the next week, training more and taking more visits to family. He felt guilty. If he stayed around too much more with both Kaede and Nagisa then things might get more complicated. Nagisa was distancing himself again, not accepting his affections and hardly meeting his eyes after the encounter. Kaede still clung to him whenever possible, opting to cuddle next to Rin rather than play with his toys in the evenings. 

Only one more week before he would need to leave again.

Nagisa was beginning to feel trapped. Before Rin came he had time to himself in those sleepless nights after he put Kaede to bed. He had time to himself to think, to ponder, to worry, to agonize over, to cry about, to sob over. The past week he had nothing but his shaky hands and quiet attempts to push the Alpha away. He didn't have the space to let it out and grieve, which is why he found himself in Makoto's apartment one evening while Rin watched Kaede.

After Nagisa told Makoto of all that had transpired he had sobbed, and Makoto dutifully held him and wiped at his tears. His Beta scent was calming but it helped none for Nagisa, who was lost to all but his overwhelming emotions.

"I shouldn't have let him stay! I should have just offered to have lunch with him one day! I shouldn't have gotten so caught up! I should have thought about Kaede!" he whined, burying his face into Makoto's chest and heaving out great sobs that wracked his entire body. He felt broken then. He was tired of crying.

The Beta said nothing, just pulled a blanket over the two of them and let the other cry in the privacy of the apartment. It was just them. It was a safe place for the Omega to be in those moments and Makoto took caring for him very seriously. He left only to gather a cold rag to place over his face to cool it and hopefully help the oncoming migraine that he knew the Omega would experience after such an emotional haul. He made the other take some painkillers and drink water the moment he began to calm down.

Makoto still offered no words to the other as he calmed down, knowing that it would only stir up the turmoil he felt even more. He stayed quiet, offering him the rock solid support only someone that knew him fully well could offer. Nagisa silently thanked him for that. He didn't leave until he had washed away any trace of the upheaval from his face and had cooled himself down enough to make sure his eyes weren't too swollen. Makoto saw him away with a comforting hug, rubbing his back for a moment before letting him go. Still no words to be said, only a reassuring smile.

Rin noticed Makoto's scent covering the Omega the moment he walked into the room. He said nothing about it, instead opting to tell him about his visit with Gou and Sousuke earlier that afternoon, Kaede asleep on his chest already. Nagisa sat and listened, happy to hear the stories even though his heart was breaking all the more. 

Nagisa again wondered what would happen after Rin left as he gazed upon his son sleeping peacefully on Rin's broad chest. He couldn't quite recall what life was like for the two of them without the Alpha.

After settling Kaede down in his own bed that night the two retired to the bedroom. When the blonde looked to his own bed he suddenly felt that sleep wouldn't come to him and was ready to say that he would be taking the couch for the night.

Rin had taken his hand before he could speak though, guiding him to the bed and helping him settle under the sheets before joining him. His instincts were screaming, barely held together underneath the surface, threatening to come out in a growl and to seek out the man whose scent was currently covering the Omega. He wanted to tear him apart. Despite how Nagisa had been pushing him away since the ordeal, he still couldn't hardly stand for another man in the picture. Despite how he hardly knew if he was welcome anymore, he couldn't allow Nagisa to be taken away from him.

"Rin?" the Omega prompted quietly, confused as to why Rin had been leaning on his side, completely silent and looking down at him.

The Alpha growled lowly, settling down close to Nagisa and slinging an arm over his waist. He held himself back from completely crawling over the Omega and claiming him, bonding him as his own. He still felt restless, though. "I'm not staying much longer... please allow me this." As long as Rin was here, he would be the one holding the blonde, not another.

Nagisa was silent and unmoving for a long while. "I'm really sorry about what Kaede said that morning."

"You shouldn't be. It's my own fault. I... I overstepped some boundaries." he admitted, knowing that if they didn't have this talk now then it might never happen, and the two might drift apart for real then.

Nagisa shook his head. "I encouraged you." he stated. He turned his head to look at Rin. "I just couldn't help myself." he chuckled humorlessly.

"I couldn't either." Rin agreed. "Nagisa, I...." the Omega looked to him, eyes tired, listening. "Nagisa, I'm going to miss you and Kaede when I leave again."

"We're going to miss you, too." Nagisa's eyes began to well up. "I'm going to miss you so much." he sniffled. "I still miss you so much now." he admitted in a whisper, voice cracking. "Things just aren't the same as they were five years ago and I miss that so much."

Rin let out a shaky sigh. "I do, too."

Nagisa rubbed at his eyes and turned to wrap an arm around the Alpha. "I'm so selfish..." he whined. "I want this while you're still here..."

Rin breathed out in relief, wrapping both arms around the Omega then, holding him tight. "Then you can have it. I'm still here for you."

Without another word they fell asleep together, wrapped up in each other and letting each others scent calm them and lull them into sleep.

 

***

 

The next day Nagisa didn't have work and kept Kaede home with him for the day. When Rin returned from training he greeted the both of them with a smile, ruffling Kaede's mess of blonde hair and butting foreheads with Nagisa lightly. They had agreed to not be affectionate in from of Kaede but he couldn't help to greet him physically somehow. The weather was nice outside so they all opted to go for a walk together to find lunch.

Kaede happily skipped along between the two of them, happy to see Rin during the day again. He reached to holds hands with either of them and the adults smiled to the little one, listening to him ramble on and on about nothing in particular. There was a family restaurant that they eventually stopped at, Kaede shivering a little at entering the building from being outside in the cool breeze. 

They sat and watched Kaede draw with the crayons the waitress had given him as they waited for their food. The walk home was pleasant, Rin carried a full and sleepy child with one arm, the other hand inconspicuously slipping into Nagisa's as their fingers twisted together. The Omega smiled and blushed lightly up at the Alpha, loving the attention despite the guilt and anguish that he still harbored within himself.

That evening they all curled up on the couch, hot tea and cocoa in their cups as they watched a movie. Kaede had forced the couple to sit close to one another so he could be close to both of them. So be it that Rin and Nagisa's shoulders and thighs touched, hands brushing, while Kaede laid himself out across both of their laps. Surprisingly, after the movie was over Kaede was not asleep already, having had a nap on the way home from lunch earlier in the day.

"I'll put him to bed and be right in." Nagisa offered, shyly smiling up at Rin with Kaede in his arms. 

Rin nodded his understanding and ruffled Kaede's hair. "Sleep well, little man."

Kaede giggled, reaching up to fix his hair stubbornly with a smile, letting his mother carry him into his room and lay him down. "Mommy?" he asked as he lay his head down.

"Yes, sweetie?" Nagisa asked, gently pushing his hair away from the eyes that looked so much like Rin's.

"For my story tonight will you tell me about my daddy?" he asked.

Out in the hall, Rin had caught the words, having just come out from the bathroom on his way to the bedroom. He paused outside Kaede's mostly closed door, listening for a moment. He hated the thought of eavesdropping but... he was just so curious.

There was a long pause from Nagisa before he answered. "Okay."

Rin bit his lip. Nagisa had told him nothing about the events surrounding Kaede's.... conception. So many things ran through him mind ranging from heartbreakingly possible to... to gut-wrenchingly awful. He felt as if his feet were glued to the ground where he stood, unable to walk away from hearing what Nagisa had to say.

"Your father is a very kind man, Kaede." he began, stroking through his son's hair. "He's handsome and strong, too!"

"Where is he?" Kaede asked, eyes wide.

Again there was a pause. "He's in town."

"Why doesn't he come see us?" 

"Because he's also really really busy, all the time. He's seen you, though! And I think he likes you a lot. You've also seen him, Kaede. And he's someone you like a whole lot." he smiled down at his son. "And he's someone I love very very much."

"Does he love you, too?" Kaede asked, yawning lightly.

Nagisa hummed, hand still moving through his son's hair. "Maybe so. I'm not sure."

"Why aren't you two together? Why do I not have a daddy here at home?"

Nagisa gazed sadly down at his son. "Because he's a very busy man, like I said. He doesn't have time for me, and he doesn't know that he's your daddy, sweetheart."

"Why doesn't he know?"

"Because I haven't told him." Nagisa admitted. He swallowed thickly then. "You're mine! I don't wanna share you!" he joked, hoping to cover up his confession. "Am I not enough for you, baby?" he mocked being upset.

"No! You're enough! You're enough!" Kaede giggled, throwing his hands up to hug his mom. "But you're the one that taught me that sharing is nice!" he laughed.

"It is with your toys! But you, my little one, are all mine!" Nagisa smiled and hugged his son, kissing his head before laying him back down. "Now go to sleep, okay? I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, mommy, I love you." Kaede said with a smile, closing his eyes and making himself comfortable under the cover.

Despite the weight that had settled in Rin's feet and fingertips, he forced himself to move, walking silently back to Nagisa's bedroom. His mind had gone blank and a hole had opened up in the pit of his stomach. There was a throbbing pain coming from his chest so deeply he wondered if something was wrong. He thought this must be what a broken heart feels like.

Nagisa spent several long moments watching his son before he got up to leave, leaving Kaede's door open just a crack. He found Rin sitting up in bed when he entered the room and he settled himself as well. "Today was really nice, Rin, thank you for treating us to lunch." he offered, scooting closer to lean against the Alpha. Rin didn't respond, face merely scrunching up in confusion when he looked to the other. "Is something wrong?" Nagisa asked, worry creeping up his spine.

The Alpha opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, took a breath and then finally looked him in the eye. "I thought.... I thought you said that you don't know who Kaede's father is?" he started, Nagisa reared back in surprise. "Then what was all that you just told him?"

Nagisa's eyes widened. "You... were listening?" he asked. 

Rin shrugged. "Don't put this off on me, you're obviously hiding something." he was starting to feel angry and it showed. "I thought we agreed to no more secrets? I thought things were going to be open between us again? Obviously not, if you don't even have the guts to tell me that there's another man in your life." the venom spoke through the last words stung Nagisa near visibly, face contorting in pain. "You said you want me while I'm still here, am I just a temporary stand in since you can't get your man?"

"No..." Nagisa whispered, struggling to keep up with the turn of events. "No! That's not it at all!" he hurried to explain.

"Then you just lied to your son?" Rin accused, the hurt in his chest still stabbing into him.

"No! I!" Nagisa stopped himself, swallowing down his panicked sobs. "Rin, I can explain..." he whined pathetically, reaching out and grabbing Rin's sleeve, scared that the Alpha was ready to get up and leave.

Rin rolled his eyes. "Then start explaining already. I'm getting tired of all this between us, Nagisa." he glared at the other.

Nagisa's shoulders jumped again, whining low in his throat and looking down in submission. "Okay... I...." he took another shuddering breath to calm himself. It didn't work. "Okay, just... just promise me that you won't talk until I'm done? I don't.... I don't know if I could get through it all otherwise." he began, breathing fast and panicked.

The Alpha rolled his eyes again, grumpy and obviously not as understanding in this moment. He shrugged anyway, prompting Nagisa to begin.

The Omega looked to him and clung to his sleeve tightly. He struggled to control his breathing and he briefly noticed that his hands were shaking. "Rin you... You're the only person I have ever had sex with." he started lamely. "You are the only person in the entire world that I have ever been even briefly intimate with." he admitted.

Rin's anger began to dissolve immediately, shoulders drooping and tense posture relaxing. Confusion began to take over as the wheels in his head processed the meaning of the information he was just given.

"And I... I wasn't in heat when we were together but... we also just so happened to be in the 1% of male Alpha/Omega couplings that got pregnant outside of heat." Nagisa felt tears begin to well in his eyes and he was so, so done with crying. Perhaps he would have nothing left after tonight, perhaps everything would be over. Like a weight lifted off his shoulders. He was tired of secrets at this point anyhow. That thought seemed to calm him as he went on. "You're Kaede's dad, Rin."

He had said it. It was out there. He had finally uttered the words he hadn't wanted to admit for years. The secret he had kept so closely guarded was out in the open of his beloved and he still couldn't read Rin's expression. So he went on.

"I didn't tell you because..." he sighed. "Well the first few months I didn't allow myself to know what was happening to my body. Even when I started to show I just thought it was separation anxiety from being away from you. Then my sister came with a pregnancy test and I though 'oh that can't be it, I wasn't in heat the one time I had sex' so I thought nothing of it until it came out positive." he sighed, tears still welling in his eyes. "And then the doctor fully confirmed it and I was finally hit with the reality of it all.

"I told my friends and my family that I had slept around." he admitted, cheeks heating up in embarrassment and shame as the tears started to roll down his cheeks. "I couldn't let anyone know that it was you, Rin. And I couldn't get rid of the baby because I knew it was yours and I loved him so so much already and he wasn't even born! I knew nothing about taking care of a baby but I had to figure it out because I loved him!"

"And I couldn't tell you because..." his voice cracked. "there were so many possibilities for what could have happened. Rin, I loved you then and I still love you now and these same fears have been plaguing me this entire time." he sniffled. "What if you wanted nothing to do with the baby and I and you stopped communicating with me altogether? What if you still wanted me but also wanted me to get rid of the baby, the baby that I already loved with all my heart? What if you wanted to stay in touch with me and didn't want the baby to be a part of our relationship? All of those possibilities would have broken my heart, Rin, and I wasn't strong enough to gamble on that." he wiped at his eyes with a shaky hand. 

"But the one thought that truly has kept me from telling you all these years was the possibility, however small, that..." he sniffled, "that you would do what your father did and leave your dream behind to come support the baby and I." he voice was strangely steady during that part of the confession, looking Rin straight in the eyes as he said so. He swallowed thickly. "I couldn't let you do that, Rin. I absolutely couldn't. If that happened then I would hate myself forever, and though I've hated myself enough all these years keeping this a secret, this has been so much easier to deal with than the thought of you dropping all your dreams to make a family with me."

"Rin, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for never telling you until now, but I am not sorry that you have been able to pursue your dream without worrying about me and your child here in Japan." he let out a deep sigh, sniffling pathetically.

Rin couldn't breathe, his mouth was open and he should be breathing right now but he wasn't. He couldn't take in a breath, the shock of this news hitting him altogether too hard. He blinked at the Omega, seeing him but also not really seeing him. "So... I'm Kaede's father?" he reiterated, looking for confirmation.

Nagisa nodded. "You're the only person it could be."

Rin nodded dumbly in understanding. "And... I've wasted my month here... a month I could have been using to get to know my... son... better... and to get closer to you again... all because you couldn't tell me the truth?" he asked, still confused and unsure.

Nagisa sagged once more, moving closer to Rin and clinging to him tightly. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know what would happen and I couldn't risk anything! If you got mad then everything would be over! If you didn't want to be a part of Kaede's life, then you couldn't be part of mine, and with you not knowing I thought... I thought the visit would be nice. It would be so nice to see you again. I don't know!" Nagisa whimpered. "I don't know. I still don't know! I'm still scared!"

Rin snapped out of it then, bringing his arms, which were strangely numb, up to wrap around Nagisa's shaking body. "I think... I need some time to think about this." he said softly.

Nagisa clung to him tighter. "Please..." he whispered... "I'm so sorry, Rin. Please don't hate me." he pleaded, whimpering and whining for the other.

Rin slowly let his arms drop from around the blonde. "I'm gonna go for a walk... I need to clear my head." he announced, moving to stand.

"Rin!" Nagisa reached for him, hand outstretched and shaking for the other. The Alpha turned with a harsh growl and glare that had him completely recoiling into himself, head turned down in submission. He whimpered.

Nagisa watched tearfully as Rin grabbed his hoodie from where he had slung it over Nagisa's desk chair. Without so much as a goodbye he padded his way out the door and through the hallway, only stopping to slip his shoes on as he left. The door slammed behind him.

Kaede woke with a start at the sound, jumping up in bed and whining, scared. He grabbed one of the many stuffed animals that covered his bed and jumped off, running as fast as his little legs would carry him to his mother's room. "Mommy?" he called out in a shaky voice as he walked in.

Nagisa wiped furiously at his eyes, doing his damned hardest to quit crying in front of his son. "Yes, sweetie?" he asked, voice just as shaky.

"Mommy!" Kaede ran to his mom, climbing up onto the bed and curling close to his mother. "Where's Rin? Is everything okay?" he asked, noticing the absence of the Alpha.

"He went for a walk, baby." Nagisa explained, pulling his son into his lap to hold him. "And everything is fine, I promise." his voice wavered and tears continued to well up in his eyes. He cursed himself for not being there for his son like he should be.

"No! That's not okay! Rin promised me he would keep making you happy! He should be here to help you from cryin'!" Kaede explained, wrapping his little arms around his mom's neck and holding on tightly. 

"It's okay, baby, I promise. Rin needed some time to himself. I'm okay. I'll be okay." the Omega tried to assure. "You're still here and that's enough for me." He curled his body around the smaller one in his arms, nuzzling into his hair and holding him tightly.

Kaede shook his head. "No. Rin does it better." Kaede pushed. "I can't make you happy like he does, he promised me he'd make you happy!" he whined. "Why isn't he here?" 

Nagisa sniffled and pushed back the sob that rose like vomit in his throat at the words. "I made him mad, sweetie, and I'm sorry." he apologized. "You are enough for me, as long as I have you it'll all be okay." he ushered, nuzzling him more. "Don't blame Rin, okay? It's mommy's fault." 

"What did you do?" Kaede asked, hugging his mom tightly.

Nagisa sniffled again. "I told him a secret that I was keeping from him for many years." he whispered. "I love you, Kaede."

The child whimpered and shifted slightly in Nagisa's arms, making himself comfortable. "I love you, too, mommy."

 

Meanwhile, Rin was half fuming and half totally heartbroken as he wandered the streets. He needed someone to talk to. Someone. Anyone but Nagisa. He needed someone that could help him sort through things and see it like he should be seeing it. He had a son! He had a child! And his child adored him! And... and he had completely missed the first few precious years of his son's life. He was mad again.

He found himself at Makoto's doorstep. He had had lunch as well as dinner here multiple times through the month with Nagisa and Kaede. He almost stopped himself from knocking when he remembered how strong the Beta's scent was on Nagisa that night a week ago. But Rin's mind was muddled, and he knew Makoto could help him sort through it all if no one else.

The door opened not long after he had knocked. Funny. He couldn't remember knocking. And Makoto seemed confused to see Rin there so late.

"Rin? What are you doing here?" it took all of one moment of looking at the Alpha's expression before it dawned on him. "Please come in." he ushered, stepping aside.

The red head did so, kicking off his shoes and following the Beta to the living area to sit on the couch. He was silent a long moment.

"Nagisa told you, huh?" Makoto sighed softly.

Rin's head snapped up. "So you knew? You fucking knew? How could you not tell me? Why did he think he had the right to keep it from me? I'm the kid's dad for Gods sake!" he puffed out a breath and began to chew on the inside of his cheek in irritation.

Makoto flinched back and looked down. "I only figured it out a while ago. When you came to pick up Kaede from his swim lessons." he amended. There was another long pause. "I didn't tell you because Nagisa told me not to, he had his reasons and I respected that."

"But you didn't respect me enough to let me know?" Rin asked, annoyance cloying at him and making him nearly shake with anger.

Makoto thought long and hard about his answer, managing to stay calm and thus helping Rin keep at least some of his cool. "Nagisa kept it a secret from everyone, Rin, not just you. He told everyone that he slept around when he went into heat. I don't think anyone believed him but that's what he tried to make everyone believe. If he was that adamant about not telling anyone then obviously he had his reasons."

"But he never stopped to think about how I would feel about this! He never considered how I might feel to him being pregnant! A relationship is supposed to be a two-way street, right? So much for that! He only thought about himself and how he would feel if I 'did this or that' in reaction to it." he huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I don't think that's it." Makoto replied evenly. "I think he was actually thinking more about you than he was himself." Rin growled. "Nagisa... he got so sick with guilt right after Kaede was born. I mean... I didn't know it then but I can see it now. The doctors didn't understand what was making him so ill at the time because there was no disease or virus in him. Nagisa actually made himself sick over how bad he felt."

Rin rolled his eyes. "That is my child, too, Makoto. Nagisa made himself sick over nothing, he should have just told me!"

Makoto sighed. "He cared for you too much to do that, Rin. Anytime we talked about you he always mentioned how happy for you he was that you were going for your dream. And I think that was key. He didn't want to get in your way so he never said anything."

"I just don't understand. I've heard his reasons and I just..." he growled harshly, hands tightening into fists with white knuckles. "I can't stand it! If he didn't want to tell me I was the kid's father then that's one thing but... he never told me about Kaede! I came here knowing nothing about him! I didn't know he existed until right before I came here and now that I know he's mine? I realize that Nagisa completely robbed me of the chance to watch him grow at all! I missed everything!" he near shouted, anger growing within himself.

Makoto's shoulders slumped. "I... I can see that. But Rin, I can also see where Nagisa may not have told you because he didn't want to give you the same excuse as everyone else. Think about it, you were in love, right? And then you were gone. How would it have affected your relationship to hear from him that he had slept around after being with you? Especially since this would have been near immediately after you left? Your relationship would have crumbled, Rin, and neither of you wanted that, I'm sure."

The Alpha sat back and let the words sink in, mulling them over in his mind. He could feel his anger slipping away slowly, a heavy sort of sadness filling in its place. "That still doesn't change that I missed my son's growing up to this point." he pointed out, feeling defeated.

Makoto bit his lip and stood. "I wanna show you something." and with that he walked over to a closet, opening it and reaching to the very top to grab out a locked box. He brought it back over to the coffee table in front of Rin and left again to grab his keys from where they lay on the kitchen table.

"What is it?" Rin wondered, sitting to the edge of the couch as Makoto began to unlock it.

"Many things." he answered simply. The box opened to reveal many little trinkets and photos, as well as a few scrapbooks and photo albums lining the bottom. "This is where I keep things that I'd like to keep safe." he explained. "And it's where I hide this from Nagisa." he finished, pulling out a photo album and handing it to Rin.

Rin took the book and held it in his hands, near afraid to open it. "What's in it?"

"Copies of ultrasounds that Nagisa gave me as well as pictures of Kaede from when he was a baby to now." Makoto explained. "And also many pictures that Nagisa asked me to destroy but I kept. And those are all the ones taken throughout his pregnancy and right after Kaede was born when he was sick."

Rin looked to Makoto with wide eyes. "So... this is how I get to see my son grow up?" he confirmed.

"I'll show you videos some other time. For now, just open it." Makoto urged, feeling guilty.

Rin sighed and opened the cover to reveal the first picture. Ultrasounds. He flipped through them slowly, taking them in and actually getting a little emotional over them. He traced the one where it Kaede's tiny fist could first be seen. Then the actual photographs began and Rin was not prepared. There in the photo, staring back at him with a smile was his Omega, hands over his swollen belly with Makoto sitting next to him. Rin found himself looking up to will away the tears that threatened to gather.

The next photos were not so nice. One of Nagisa, expression pained and red with exertion as his mother tried to help him stand from bed. "I took many of those. I felt like documenting everything that I could. I knew the circumstances were different but my mom and dad didn't take hardly any photos of their experience being pregnant with children and they regretted it so... I wanted to do that for Nagisa." Makoto explained as he looked on. A photo of Nagisa sitting on an examination table and a doctor speaking to him. One of him curled up in bed with hands over his stomach. 

Then the photos skipped a little, a small baby appearing in them now. "He looks really small." Rin mentioned, emotion still threatening to bubble up.

"He was. The doctors thought it odd that he was born so small when he was about 2 weeks late being born." Makoto explained. "They figured it might have something to do with the fact that his father wasn't involved with the pregnancy so many hormones in Nagisa weren't triggered that normally would have been had his lover been involved. Thus, Kaede didn't get a lot of developing hormones that mother and child share."

Rin nodded in understanding, sighing deeply and shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again in favor of turning the page to continue looking at the pictures.

There were an array of photos of Kaede all swaddled up in various degrees of slumber over the next few photos and Rin chuckled at how much the chubby cheeks looked like Nagisa's own. After was a photo of Nagisa lying in bed, a cradle standing close to the bed and the Omega had a hand outstretched to its edge. The Omega looked tired and pale but had a small smile on his face nonetheless. Then a picture of grandma and grandpa holding the baby, as well as Nagisa's sisters and even Makoto himself. There was one of Rei sitting next to Nagisa with Kaede in his own arms, the two were smiling at the camera but Nagisa looked tired.

Then there was a photo of Kaede in Nagisa's arms and the Omega was leaning heavily against his own father for support as the older man helped his son hold the baby. Nagisa's mother stood to the side with a worried expression. Rin looked to Makoto in slight confusion. "Nagisa was very sick, like I mentioned. He was too weak to hold Kaede on his own for a long time." he explained.

Rin's eyes widened. "It got that bad...?" 

Makoto nodded slowly. "Broke his heart that he had to have help to hold his own baby."

It felt like the air had been pressed out of his own body as Rin turned back to the album and turned the pages. One of Nagisa lying down with Kaede asleep on his chest, Nagisa's hands atop his child and pressing a kiss to the baby's crown. One of Makoto helping him hold Kaede as he fed him with a bottle. As the pictures went on, Kaede grew bigger and Nagisa steadily seemed to look healthier. Rin found himself smiling goofily at a photo of Nagisa standing, holding Kaede up and smiling wide up at his baby boy who was smiling just as wide. 

Kaede grew steadily in the photos, and there were many to look at, Rin must have been looking through them for an hour or more just tracing the boy's features as he grew. Nagisa's health seemed to waver from good to bad by the photos and this stirred even more deep emotion within himself as the Alpha realized that he not only missed Kaede growing up, but he missed caring for the Omega as well.

"I need to talk to Nagisa." Rin finally decided, sniffling but holding back from crying very well. He closed the album and held it out the Beta.

Makoto shook his head no. "You keep it. I don't need it, I just didn't want to lose the memories. They'll be just as safe in your hands." he smiled gently. "He loves you, Rin, and I hope you can talk this out between you both."

"I don't know the first thing about being a father." Rin admitted, looking away and caressing the leather cover of the album with his thumbs.

"You don't have to. Nagisa will teach you if you want to learn. It'll work out if you want it to." Makoto urged. "I think your first concern right now would be how to own up as an Alpha after leaving a distressed Omega to fend for himself." the glint in his eye was unmistakable.

Rin jumped and lowered his head in guilt. "Fuck... I just left him..." he breathed out. "He even asked me not to and I just... fuck!" his hands tightened around the album. "What do I do?"

"You go and talk to him. Nagisa is more understanding than most so forgiveness isn't going to be the problem. The problem is how you can make it up to him on your own in the next few days." Makoto stood, closing the safe again and moving to put it back in the closet.

"Thanks, Makoto." Rin offered, standing as well and holding the album close.

Makoto shook his head and brought the other in for a brief hug. "Don't worry about it. Now go! Go take of your Omega!" he pushed, seeing the other out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I pulled all the medical stuff out of nowhere. This is an Omegaverse so obviously biology will be different and I tried to make it come off as such. Things work differently here so please take it in stride and if you have any questions feel free to ask me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning!!!! Panic attacks. Please be warned.

Upon entering the apartment, Rin was nervous to hear nothing but silence. He took a deep breath and took his shoes off quietly, slowly making his way towards the back hallway. On his way, he peeked into Kaede’s room, finding him asleep in his bed clutching one of his many stuffed animals.  
  
The Alpha sighed with relief at seeing him sleeping so peacefully before turning to Nagisa’s bedroom door. He hesitated once more, looking down at the photo album in his hands and stalling, trying once again to figure out how he was going to reconcile with the blonde. Gathering all the courage he could muster he knocked lightly on the door before stepping inside.  
  
“Nagisa…?” he called quietly, closing the door behind him. He looked around the empty room, confused, as he stepped inside and set the album on the desk. He cringed and kicked himself when he noticed that his suitcase was neatly packed on the floor near the bed. “I’m back,” he offered, turning to go back out and search the rest of the apartment.  
  
He stopped at the door when he heard a noise coming from the joined bathroom. “Nagisa?” he stepped towards the door, knocking lightly on the slightly ajar door before stepping in.  
  
The Omega sat curled on the floor, clutching his stomach, and visibly shaking. “Rin, I’m so sorry,” he whispered on a sob.  
  
“Nagisa… hey,” Rin offered, getting to his knees near the Omega and putting a hand on his back, rubbing in gentle circles. “I’m the one that should be sorry.”  
  
“No!” Nagisa retorted, choking out a sob and shaking his head, still not sitting up to look at the Alpha. “I didn’t tell you! I didn’t tell you anything! It’s my fault… it’s all my fault…” His shaking continued, nails clutching into his arms.  
  
“Nagisa, I understand now though! I shouldn’t have left you like that.” He sighed, trying to pull the blonde close but Nagisa resisted, flinching away at his touch, Rin’s heart lurched. “Come on… let’s go sit on the bed and talk.”  
  
The blonde shook his head, sobbing harder, body lurching. “You hate me now! I kept your own son from you! You’re gonna leave and I understand… you’re gonna leave me,” he sobbed harder then, clutching his stomach. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do…” he whimpered as his body lurched and he moved quickly to the toilet before he emptied the contents of his stomach.  
  
Rin’s eyes widened, struggling to figure out what to do. Nagisa had gone into a panic and he had no idea how to help so he just reached out a hand to rub soothingly over his back. “Hey, it’s alright. I’m not gonna leave, okay?” he flinched when Nagisa’s body lurched again. “I’m gonna stay right here and help you,” he offered.  
  
Nagisa sat back, flushing the toilet and pushing Rin’s hand away from him. “No, you’re not! You hate me and you just won’t say it!” he insisted, tears streaming down his face even as he still refused to look Rin in the face.  
  
“I don’t hate you!” Rin tried, clutching for what to do. He watched as the Omega stood on shaky legs and turned to the sink. He struggled with finding the words that would help the younger male.  
  
Nagisa shakily turned the sink on, slipping his head under the water stream and struggling to get his breathing under control. Rin stood instantly and gently pulled him away from the water, instead grabbing a washcloth and soaking it and using it to pat over Nagisa’s face.  
  
Nagisa couldn’t stop the tears and he stared at the ground. “What am I gonna do…” he asked himself quietly.  
  
“You don’t have to do anything alone. I’m here right now, okay?” Rin tried, relying on his instincts to comfort the blonde. He cursed himself for not being better at this.  
  
Nagisa shook his head violently, water droplets from his hair flying out. “No! Stop it!” he near yelled. “I fucked up!” his breathing began to pick up, “I made you mad!” he was beginning to shake harder again, “I don’t know how I’m gonna handle this anymore!” he whimpered. Before he knew it he was hyperventilating and the room was swimming.  
  
“Nagisa!” Rin reached out to steady the dizzy Omega. “You have to breathe, please Nagisa!” he pleaded, trying a croon deep in his throat in an attempt to calm the other.  
  
Nagisa shook his head again, stumbling on his feet as the movement made him dizzier. “I can’t take this,” he whimpered, “I don’t wanna be sad anymore…” he whined, tears overflowing and streaming down his face. He was getting dizzier, air not finding his lungs, his vision became spotty but there was only one thing on his mind.  
  
Rin had rejected him. Rin was going to leave. He would be left alone.  
  
The Alpha found himself near tears as well at seeing how deep Nagisa had gotten into his state of panic. He kept trying to steady the other so he wouldn’t fall but he kept getting his hands knocked away from him. “Nagisa, please tell me what to do,” he pleaded, berating himself more and more for the poor choices he’s made that led to this moment. His dear Omega was in a panic state, and he had no idea how to help him out of it.  
  
Nagisa struggled for air, struggled to find his footing, struggling to complete a thought until one finally came to him. Even with his spotty vision and unstable balance he moved quickly, finding the medicine cabinet and reaching for the pills he knew were there.  
  
Rin’s eyes widened and he went into his own state of adrenaline filled panic. Without thinking he reached for Nagisa, knocking the pill bottle out of his hand and wrapping his arms around the Omega and picking him up off the floor.  
  
Nagisa thrashed in his arms, struggling against him. “Rin, stop! No! I can’t take this!” he choked out between gasps for air.  
  
The Alpha ignored the other and moved them to the bedroom, dropping the other onto the bed and leaning down to cage him in so he wouldn’t leave. Nagisa continued to thrash and sob and he still wasn’t breathing right and his panic was still rising.  
  
Rin let his Alpha instincts take full control. He struggled against Nagisa’s protests and roughly turned him onto his stomach. Before the blonde could make another move, Rin leaned down and bit his teeth roughly into the back of his neck with a harsh growl in his throat.  
  
Nagisa gasped sharply as his entire body was forcibly relaxed by the pressure point on his nape. He whined and heaved another sob but his breathing was slowly calming down, the Omega taking in gulping breaths of air.  
  
Rin didn’t let go until the Omega had completely stopped fighting him and only small hiccups were heard every now and again. He licked gently at the bite mark to soothe it before pulling off from the Omega and giving him some space.  
  
The blonde looked up at him briefly before closing his eyes. “I’m sorry…” he sniffled. “I keep fucking up…”  
  
Rin shook his head, moving his hand to rub his back again. “I didn’t know what else to do,” he admitted softly.  
  
They were quiet another while. Nagisa interrupted the moment by knocking Rin’s hand away from him. If they weren’t ruined before they were ruined now, he was sure of it.  
  
“I packed your bag up for you. You’re free to go whenever you want. You don’t have to waste your time here.” Nagisa offered, settling his tired body further into the mattress.  
  
Rin sighed. “I’m not leaving yet,” he stated simply as he fought to get his thoughts together. “That was an incredibly selfish thing to do, you know?” Nagisa flinched at the words. “What if I hadn’t been here and you had… done that…” Rin looked at his hands, unable to say the words. “Kaede would have been the one to find you. Your child wouldn’t know what to do, Nagisa. He needs you.”  
  
The blonde sniffled and nodded his head before burying his face into the comforter and heaving a sob. “I know. God, I know! My baby… my little baby…” he whimpered.  
  
Rin kicked himself and forced his frustration down, this isn’t what he needed to be doing now. “I’m sorry… I just… Nagisa I didn’t come back to get my stuff and leave. I need to make this right to you…” he sighed.  
  
“Why?! Why wouldn’t you just want to leave?!” Nagisa cried, trying to understand. He sat up then, wiping at his face with his sleeves. “I don’t get it, Rin, I don’t get it!” he sobbed.  
  
Rin sat closer, pulling Nagisa’s arms away from his face and settling his hands on the Omega’s cheeks, forcing him to look at the redhead. He gently wiped away the falling tears with his thumbs. “Because I do love you, Nagisa. I made a mistake by leaving you here. I was mad but… I’m not anymore. I get it. I get why you didn’t tell me. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it but I get it.”  
  
Nagisa hiccupped and nodded his head, reaching up to hold Rin’s wrists to ground himself. “I’m so sorry, Rin. I’m afraid I’m never gonna be able to make it up to you, though…” he sniffled.  
  
Rin shook his head. “You don’t have to. I left you when I shouldn’t have. I should have taken responsibility and listened to you better. I should have stayed to take care of you…” he looked away, a little embarrassed by his words.  
  
Nagisa was quiet a long moment. He stared at Rin and forced himself to calm down some more. “So, we’re both not without mistakes,” he stated. Rin nodded in response. “Where do we go from here…?” he asked shyly.  
  
Rin took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Where do we want to go from here?” he asked back. He looked up to see Nagisa looking at him in confusion. “I think the best course of action is to talk about where we want to be… and then working to those goals.”  
  
Nagisa nodded, too scared to speak past the cobwebs in his mind. He still felt broken inside.  
  
Rin waited for him before deciding to speak up, taking Nagisa’s hand and forcing him to look up. “What I have wanted for five years, and still want now, is to be with you,” he admitted, a blush taking over his cheeks but he held the eye contact. “I want to be your proper Alpha, and I want a family with you.” Nagisa’s eyes began to shine with tears again. “But, I do understand if you… don’t want that… I want more than anything for you to be happy.”  
  
“Rin…” Nagisa sniffled, a watery smile on his lips. “I want that. I want that so bad.” He admitted softly. “I’ve messed up so bad though…” he whimpered.  
  
Rin reached around the Omega, pulling him closer and nuzzling his hair. “We just agreed that we both made mistakes, right? We gotta move past that,” he stated. He felt Nagisa nod and curl his body into Rin’s. “Maybe we should talk about all this then, properly. Without any running away.”  
  
Nagisa nodded and sighed. “I am sorry,” he began, “I wanted to tell you so many times. Every time I couldn’t sleep because he was kicking so hard, every day I suffered through the morning sickness, the day I got the first ultrasound… all of it. I wanted you there… but every day I waited was a day harder to tell you.”  
  
Rin nodded in understanding. “I…” he sighed, “I understand why you didn’t tell me… I think. It just… hurts. I missed seeing Kaede grow up… I missed so much… Honestly it still hasn’t hit me that he’s my… son. I just know that I missed a whole lot.”  
  
Nagisa nodded and cuddled closer to the Alpha, taking comfort in the familiar scent. “I didn’t know what to do… I didn’t want you to give up your dreams… but I also didn’t want to tell you that he wasn’t yours…”  
  
Rin chuckled softly. “Yeah… I understand that much at least.” He was quiet a moment, bringing his arms around the Omega. “What makes me most upset right now, though, Nagisa, is that I couldn’t even help or protect you when you were sick.”  
  
Nagisa chuckled humorlessly. “That’s when I wanted you the most.” He sniffled, “The doctors were so scared when I went into labor cause I was already so sick. They were afraid to give me any drugs or anesthetic for the procedure because they didn’t know if I would wake up,” he swallowed hard and wiped away the tear that escaped. “I couldn’t even hold him…”  
  
Rin shuddered at the thought and held the blonde tighter. “I know… Makoto told me a little.”  
  
“What? When?” Nagisa looked up in confusion.  
  
Rin shrugged a little. “When I left that’s where I went. He lived close and I just… I don’t know he helped me calm down.”  
  
Nagisa nodded. “So… you probably know a lot… right? He’s been pretty involved since it all happened…”  
  
Rin shrugged again. “Not particularly? There’s still a ton I don’t know, probably. But he did… show me pictures and stuff. So I got to see little Kaede.”  
  
Nagisa looked at him a moment before it dawned on him and he sighed heavily. “Damn it I told him to get rid of all those! I didn’t… I hate being reminded of that time. I didn’t want to be seen like that…”  
  
Rin chuckled. “I appreciated the photos. Helped me see a little bit of what I missed out on.” Nagisa flinched at the words. “Sorry…” he sighed, “But damn if it didn’t kick me out of my self-pity to see that I’m not the only one who has suffered because of all this.”  
  
Nagisa nodded. “Do you think… that maybe you can forgive me? Maybe not now but… in time.”  
  
Rin thought for a moment, rubbing his thumb in circles over Nagisa’s arm. “I can. I’ll admit I’m still struggling a little but it’s nothing that I can’t work through. With you. Together.”  
  
Nagisa felt relieved and relaxed a little more and yawned. “What can I help you with right now?” he asked.  
  
Rin shuffled their bodies so they were under the covers together as he thought. “How about we start by you introducing me to Kaede again. Like… as his father…” he offered, pulling the Omega close and nuzzling his hair.  
  
Nagisa tensed a little. “You know he’s gonna want you to stay if we do that… right?”  
  
“And what’s wrong with that?”  
  
Nagisa sat up instantly and hit Rin’s shoulder. “You are not staying!” his eyes were filled with fire as he looked down at the Alpha. “You will not give up what you have in Australia, Rin. You’ve worked too hard to get where you are. It’s what you’ve always wanted. You are not giving that up.”  
  
“I never said I have to!” he sat up too, trying to think of his words carefully before saying them, watching the anger flare in Nagisa’s eyes. “Being his father and him wanting me to stay doesn’t mean he won’t also understand why I have to leave. He’s a smart kid!” he offered.  
  
Nagisa sighed, still a little worked up. “I guess you’re right.”  
  
Rin nodded, taking one of Nagisa’s hands and holding it in his own. “I do wanna move back though,” he started, making a point to continue before Nagisa could rebut him, “There are closer training centers here in Japan. I would still have to fly out for competitions but that’s okay. I’ve been thinking about doing this since before I knew Kaede existed. I’m serious about being your Alpha and supporting you.”  
  
Nagisa listened patiently, watching Rin for a moment before nodding. “I can live with that.” He settled and moved them to lay back down. “We’ll cross that bridge later, though. We start with telling Kaede that you’re his dad.”  
  
Rin nodded and yawned, pulling the Omega close.  



	10. Chapter 10

It was a late morning for everyone in the apartment. Nagisa had crashed after getting through talking with Rin and hadn’t woken when the Alpha got up to go for his morning run. When he got back everyone was still asleep so he opted to sit in the living room and turn the TV on low while he let Nagisa and Kaede rest.  
  
It wasn’t much later that he heard the slow pitter patter of feet on the floor and he looked over to see a very disgruntled Kaede staring at him.  
  
“Good morning, little man, did you sleep well?” he asked, patting the couch next to him to offer him a seat.  
  
Kaede was quiet as he climbed onto the couch and sat next to Rin. He was still staring at him and his face had contorted into an awful glare.   
  
Rin shuffled a little under the intense gaze from the child, biting his lip between his teeth. “Something wrong?” he asked.  
  
“You promised me that you would make mommy happy,” the child started, “You weren’t there last night…”  
  
Realization washed over Rin and he withered under the guilt. “I know, little man, and I’m sorry…” he looked into Kaede’s big, bright eyes as he continued, “I did come back though. And I apologized to your mommy and made him feel better. I’ll do better next time, though, I promise.”  
  
Kaede considered him for a long moment before nodding and curling into Rin’s side. Rin put his arm around the child and they sat together watching the television for a while until Kaede’s stomach rumbled.  
  
Rin chuckled and looked down at the blonde child. “What should we do for lunch? Is sandwiches alright?”  
  
Kaede smiled and nodded, going with Rin into the kitchen and getting settled in his seat while Rin made the quick dish. As they sat and ate together Rin looked to Kaede and considered talking to him and telling him the truth before he realized that he definitely wouldn’t be able to handle the situation without Nagisa’s help.  
  
The Omega woke up right as they were finishing eating and he shuffled into the kitchen. He leaned over and gave his son a kiss on the cheek with his good morning (afternoon?) wishes and sat down next to him to eat his own lunch.  
  
“Is there anything you need from the store that isn’t on this list? I was gonna go pick all this up for you today.” Rin offered, setting the paper in front of him to look over.  
  
Nagisa read through the list and shook his head. “That looks like everything. Are you sure you wanna go though?”  
  
Rin shrugged. “You deserve to relax. It won’t take long, anyhow.”  
  
Nagisa nodded. “So…” he glanced at Kaede, “when you get back, maybe?” he asked tentatively, still nervous about the prospect.  
  
Rin nodded and took a deep breath. He calmed himself before grabbing the shopping list and saying goodbye as he put on his shoes to go.  
  
Nagisa ate a few more bites of his sandwich, regarding how to approach the situation and ultimately deciding that it would be best to give his son some warning and ease him into the idea before telling him that Rin was his dad. “Hey, Kaede,” Nagisa started, looking over at his son as he colored on the paper Rin had given him.   
  
“Yeah, mommy?” he responded without looking up.  
  
“I have a surprise for you today.” Nagisa smiled when his son looked up to him in excitement. “I’m gonna introduce you to your daddy.”  
  
Kaede’s face fell immediately. “I don’t wanna,” he stated simply.  
  
Nagisa jerked in surprise. “What? But, baby…”  
  
Kaede shook his head and returned to coloring. “I don’t want a daddy. I don’t want to see him.”  
  
“Kaede, your dad is here though… and he wants to meet you.” He treaded carefully.  
  
“No!” his son yelled back. Nagisa’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Kaede had never disrespected or talked back to him before. “I don’t want to meet him so I won’t!”  
  
“Kaede!” Nagisa chastised, “You do not speak to your mother that way!”  
  
Kaede’s eyes filled with tears, “But I don’t… I don’t want a daddy, mommy.”  
  
***  
  
Rin opened the door and was hit with the sounds of a crying Kaede. He rushed to take his shoes off and run inside. “Is everything alright?”  
  
Nagisa sat on the couch with his son in his lap looking lost for words. Kaede was clinging to his mother and sobbing into his shoulder.  
  
Rin put the grocery bags on the kitchen table and returned to sit next to Nagisa.  
  
“Hey, baby…” he started, kissing his son’s temple. “Kaede it’s time to meet your daddy.”  
  
“No!” Kaede screamed again, sobbing harder and clinging tighter to Nagisa. The Omega sighed. “If it’s not Rin then I don’t want a daddy! I don’t! I don’t!” he sniffled and hiccupped.  
  
Nagisa’s eyes widened and he looked over to Rin with understanding on his face. He sighed in relief and giggled. “Kaede please, turn and say hello to your dad.” Kaede screwed his eyes shut and shook his head.  
  
Rin struggled to keep from laughing lightly, ever surprised by this young child. “I’m not that scary, am I?” Kaede hiccupped and whimpered. “C’mon, little man, just look over here.”  
  
Kaede slowly turned his head, looking up and meeting Rin’s eyes. “Rin?”  
  
The Alpha chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, little man, it’s me.”  
  
Kaede looked up to his mother, confused. Nagisa smoothed a hand through his hair and smiled. “Baby, Rin is your daddy. I know I told you before that he wasn’t but… things have changed a little, darling.”  
  
Kaede sat silent, processing what he was told. “So you lied to me?” he asked.  
  
Nagisa nodded. “I did, baby, and I’m sorry. I only did it because Rin didn’t know you were his baby too, at the time,” he answered nervously. He wasn’t sure how much his son would completely understand, but being honest with the child was the best way to go.  
  
“Why didn’t he know?” Kaede asked, honestly confused.  
  
“I didn’t tell him, sweetheart. Remember? I didn’t wanna share you at all.” He giggled and hugged his son, “But Rin found out anyway and now I gotta share.” He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes like the thought of sharing Kaede with his father was a burden. Kaede giggled at the reaction.  
  
“Sharing is nice, mommy.” Kaede said, matter of factly. “Rin is my daddy and you gotta share with my daddy,” he said with a nod of his head.  
  
Rin laughed and nodded. “That’s right!” he agreed.  
  
Nagisa joined in the laughing and hugged his son as Rin brought his arms around them both, reveling in the delight of being with his family.  
  
“So Rin is staying here after all?” Kaede spoke up in surprise.  
  
The laughter died down and Nagisa looked up at Rin, preparing to answer the question. Rin beat him to it though. “No, little man, I still gotta race! If I stayed here then I couldn’t go win gold for you,” he explained, poking his tummy and making him giggle.  
  
Kaede nodded in understanding. “That’s right! You gotta go swim!” he smiled, “But you’ll come to visit more… right?”  
  
Rin nodded and smiled. “Definitely. I’ll come back and see you often.”  
  
Kaede’s face lit up and he leaned over to hug Rin tightly. Nagisa melted at the sight.  
  
  
***  
Epilogue  
***  
  
  
“Daddy’s here! Daddy’s here!” Kaede jumped up and down from where he waited with his mom at the train station, decked in the warmest coat Nagisa could find against the cold December chill.  
  
Nagisa giggled and leaned down to pull his hat down over his head a little better, “Yep, the train is here and he’ll be coming out any second!”  
  
Before Rin had left to go back to Australia Nagisa had taken him and Kaede for a dinner at his parent’s house. He had invited his sister’s along as well to announce to his family that Rin was, in fact, the father of his child.  
  
His parents had just laughed and his sisters had rolled their eyes, unimpressed by the announcement.  
  
_“Honey, did you really think we would believe that you had slept around?” his mother had asked._  
  
_“You and Rin were stuck together like glue for so long that it couldn’t have been anyone else.” One of his sisters had spoken up._  
  
Rin’s face was burned red the entire evening as the Hazuki family welcomed him back with open arms, happy that he was back with their son.  
  
After that incident Rin had taken them to his own family to make the announcement and come clean about the Omega he had been seeing.   
  
Gou had been shocked and chastised Nagisa for not telling her that her own brother was the cause of him leaving the swim club back in high school. Rin’s mother was just ecstatic to get to meet her grandson.  
  
After that everything had calmed down and the last few days of Rin’s visit were spent together as a family, with Nagisa and Rin finally allowing themselves to be affectionate around Kaede.  
  
“Hey, Nagisa?” Rin started one evening after putting Kaede to sleep. Nagisa looked up at him with a soft smile. “There’s one more thing I need to apologize for.”  
  
Nagisa cocked his head to the side. “What’s that?” he asked as they stepped into the bedroom.  
  
“I’m sorry that you had to wait five years for this,” Rin stated plainly, face burning red as he leaned forward and pulled Nagisa into his arms. Nagisa looked up at him as he wound his own arms around Rin’s neck. The Alpha pulled them close and leaned down to let their lips meet for the first time since they had parted years ago.  
  
Nagisa melted into the kiss, holding on tightly to the older male and moaning softly in contentment. They pulled away after only a brief moment and Rin leaned his forehead against the Omega’s.  
  
Nagisa could keep the smile off his face. “I missed that.”   
  
Rin nodded in agreement before pulling their lips together once more.  
  
  
Now it was time for Rin to move home. He had arranged to train in the facilities in Iwatobi until the couple could move to a city closer that would allow for Rin to continue his practice. It had only been a few months since Rin had come to visit but both mother and son were relieved that the Alpha was coming back.  
  
The Omega pulled his son into his arms as they watched the unloading passengers and both couldn’t keep the smiles from their faces when they saw Rin step off of the train and notice them. Nagisa ran towards Rin with Kaede in his arms and they were scooped up into a tight embrace by the Alpha.  
  
“Hey, little man! How are you?” he asked the boy in Nagisa’s arms as he leaned over to kiss the blonde lightly.  
  
“I missed you, daddy!” the boy admitted, wrapping his arms around his father when he leaned forward to hold him.  
  
“Missed you, too, little man,” he smiled and hugged the boy before turning his full attention to the Omega. “I missed you, too.”  
  
Nagisa felt his cheeks flush and he giggled. “I missed you, too, Rin.”  
  
Together they gathered Rin’s bags, with Kaede still holding tight to his dad’s neck and not letting go, and the family began walking towards the apartment together.  
  
“Sooo… I have it worked out with my mom to take Kaede in two weeks,” Nagisa mentioned as they walked.  
  
Rin glanced towards him. “It’s really happening?”  
  
Nagisa giggled and felt his cheeks burn pink again. “Yep. I got confirmation from the doctor to get off my meds last month. Mom’s already taken Kaede for one week.”  
  
“Really?” Rin looked to the Omega in surprise.  
  
“Yeah!” Kaede spoke up then. “I got to spend a whoooole week with grandma! She gave me lots of sweets and bought me new toys! Uncle Makoto came over sometimes and took me to school and stuff, too. It was super fun!” he explained to his dad.  
  
The couple laughed at the young boy’s innocence and Nagisa leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Are you still sure about it? We could end up with another little munchkin.”   
  
Rin halted his walking to look the Omega in the eye. “Yes. I want to bond with you. And if we do end up with another little one then… I’ll be here for you. You won’t be alone this time.”  
  
Nagisa nodded and smiled but looked at the ground, guilt still eating at him.  
  
“Hey,” Rin started, waiting for Nagisa to look up at him, “Forgive and forget. I love you.”  
  
Nagisa smiled brightly, “I love you, Rin.”  



End file.
